The spring tribute
by Stranger-of-the-void
Summary: Jack happily lives with his mother and his younger sister in their village. The celebration of Easter is close by where they celebrate Aster, their god of fertility, who in return grants them a good year of crop, cattle and healthy children. But it doesn't come without a price- they have to offer a tribute each Easter. And this year, it's the turn of Jack's village. NON-CON, M/M
1. Chapter 1

**Hello readers!**

**Yes, I'm still working on 'Infected', don't worry.**

**This is something I want to fill along the way, because I really like this idea.**

**This is a fill for a prompt at the ROTG kink meme, search for: **

**(Bunnymund/Jack Frost) Jack is a Tribute (Noncon).**

**( FF somehow refuses to let me put in the link to the site, but just ask me if you wanna know!)**

**Although they were already two other fills from different authors I really wanted to give it a try, and well, here it is.**

**Please read the prompt before to understand what this story is about, okay?**

**You'll get a better grip like that on the events.**

**I hope you'll enjoy reading this first chapter!**

**Warning: This fill will contain non-con, violence and other questionable stuff, so be warned. Though the non-con will come in chapter 2...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ROTG or any characters of it, otherwise I'd already make sure a sequel will come next year.**

**This story is dedicated to kiki564, who gave birth to this great story idea!**

The ground still felt a bit cool under Jack's bare feet while he quietly sneaked under a few bushes and past gnarly tree trunks, but he didn't notice it, careful to not make any traitorous sound. Above him the sunlight shone through the fresh green leafs, golden and warm, while green, short grass sprouted from the ground, announcing spring time. Quickly he jumped to overcome a bigger gap between a few bushes and ducked under the leafs, not caring about the twigs and leafs being caught in his unruly brown hair.

"Where is she?", he murmured, brown eyes looking through the bushes intently. He moved forward, eyes swishing over the ground to look. Maybe she had left some traces there? His eyes spotted something small and bluish on the ground, next to a weak imprint.

"Mmh, what's that?", he said to himself, inching closer.

His toes dug into the earth while his, also non too clean fingers, picked up the small item on the ground, making him grin victoriously.

"Gotcha! You should know you can't escape me", he grinned under his breath, following the weak imprints of shoes which sometimes disappeared completely or were at least not visible enough.

He had to give her credit for that- she had gotten a bit better at hiding her trail. But there was no way she could escape him now. With a grin he popped the blueberry into his mouth and continued to follow the trail his hunting prey had left behind, crouched like a wild animal. He didn't have to sneak much longer- after like fifteen minutes he spotted a suspicious shape. It wasn't really a full shape, but he could see the familiar color of dark red shimmering between green, the tip of a brown shoe peeking through a few gaps.

With a suppressed snicker he sneaked closer until he was close enough, and listened. It was barely audible- but he could hear it, the quiet, slightly uneven breathing of something hiding between those bushes, just behind that big, awry tree trunk. Jack grinned- in the next second he pounced, landing on top of a smaller, wildly struggling and screeching body, pounding with small fists against his chest.

"You are so mean! You cheated, again! You weren't allowed to hide while looking for me!",

Pippa cried indignant and threw a blueberry at him which he easily caught and ate, unable to defend himself properly when she sat on top of him and angrily hit him- he had to laugh too much.

"What? You just said I should come and find you, don't you remember? You didn't say anything about hiding while searching as not allowed", he said and looked at her innocently, snickering when she glared at him.

"This was supposed to be a simple hide and seek! But you cheated again! You won't get any blueberries I collected today!"

With that she stood up and brushed some dirt off her dark red coat before leaning down to grab the basket with blueberries. She glanced down at his feet and shook her head, though she couldn't hide a smile: "And you took off your shoes again! Wait till Mom sees that!"

"Hey, I can hunt so much better that way! It is easier to sneak up on animals like that, plus I prefer to walk around barefooted and-"

"And actually this is so much more healthy and great and all people should walk around barefooted and so on", Pippa interrupted him with a roll of her eyes,

"I've heard that so often that I can already say it by heart big brother!" "So what? You never really tried it yourself! You don't even know what you're missing!",

Jack exclaimed and quickly climbed up a tree to dangle in front of his sister, pulling faces at her until she couldn't stop laughing any longer.

"Oh Jack, you are so stupid!", she giggled, watching how he showed off a few acrobatic exercises before he stopped midway, looking at the sky. Abruptly he let go and landed with a dull sound, grabbing Pippa's hand and pulling her with him.

"Jack, wait! Why are you-" "We're late, we're late! Come on, we gotta hurry up or Mom will get really mad at us! It is already time for dinner, you know how she'll scold us when food's gone cold again! Plus, tomorrow is Easter! We still gotta do a few things!"

His little sister nodded and laughed when he imitated their mother's angry face, giggling before she stopped, remembering something.

"Jack, wait! Where's your bow? And weren't you supposed to hunt for some meat?" "Oops", the brown haired teenager said and hurriedly let go of his sister, running back with her to a tree.

"Why did you even hung up your bow and meat so high anyway?", Pippa asked, watching him agile climb up to snatch his bow and a deer he had shot.

"Well, can't go searching for you with a dead deer on my back, right? Not to mention the bow", Jack replied before he jumped down, grinning at her: "Now, come on! Hurry hurry!"

He grabbed his sister's hand, and together they ran back into their village to their house.

"Hey Mom, we're ba-ack!", Jack sing sang, carrying the dead deer into the larder where he hung it up before jumping back to his mother and sister who was just presenting her collected blueberries.

"Hello my dears", she smiled, stroking her daughter's hair shortly before she turned to look at Jack, a stern expression in her brown eyes: "Jackson Overland Frost, aren't you two a bit late for dinner?" Her son coughed, awkwardly rubbing his neck: "Well, it took us some time, but- look at the deer I shot, doesn't it look-"

"Don't try to distract me Jack. I know your tricks well!", she told him, her eyes wandering down his body: "And you didn't wear any shoes again! Look how dirty they are! How often did I tell you to wear some!"

"I don't like wearing shoes, you know that", Jack replied none too intimidated and snatched another blueberry from the basket, ignoring his sister's indignant cry who tried to swat him away, which their mother did instead.

"Go then into the backyard, you two! Pippa, you'll wash those berries, Jack, you'll wash your hands and feet, I don't want your dirty footprints all over the house again! As punishment you won't get any dessert! And put on some shoes already!",

she ordered, turning back to the soup she had been cooking over the fire.

"What?! But, Mom-"

"I saw that, young man", she said over her shoulder when Jack rolled his eyes at Pippa who giggled, straightening up and giving her his best kicked puppy look.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, you know it doesn't work on me!", she threatened with the soup spoon.

"Oh, come on Mom! Please? I love blueberries!", he begged, "I brought meat just like I was supposed to! And not that less! Pleaseee!"

His mother stared at him, trying to hold her frown, but when Jack stuck up his lower lip to look even more miserable she wasn't able to look angry any longer. With a sigh she shook her head. "Oh, fine then! But, just one foot print and you'll get no food tonight at all!"

Jack smiled broadly, then he danced over to her, giving her a quick, but fond kiss on the cheek. "Yes Maam !", he saluted exaggerated, adding "You're the best Mom!" before he ran outside with Pippa to do as they were told, she watched them disappear through the door, smiling fondly.

She was so happy to have such great children, children who tried their best to help her with the household and everything else. They were only three, after her husband had died, and it had been hard at first, even with the help from the village. But it had worked, Jack and Pippa doing their best. Oh, how grown up they both were now! Jack was eighteen now and Pippa fourteen, loving each other deeply, which wasn't always the case with siblings- but the brown haired siblings really loved each other, Jack would probably to anything for her.

Sure, Jack was a bit of a wild child, often doing mischief and tricks on others- not to mention his strange insist on never wearing shoes. But he was also a a caring brother, a patient, good hunter and knew how to behave well, even if he didn't always felt like doing it- he was a fine young man now, practically an adult now. She didn't know how she would have managed to pull through if he hadn't been there and willing to help. Well, there were also their grandparents- North and Toothiana, but since they were traveling merchants, also offering medical aid with their third company Sandy- a quiet, sleepy looking, but really great doctor- they couldn't help very often.

But, by now the time had arrived again that they should come, too. It was spring now, and the time for one of their biggest and most important celebrations. She halted, frowning slightly, a bad feeling creeping over her back which irritated. Why did she suddenly feel so strange? Now was not the time to be in foul mood, it was the time of spring, when everything bloomed anew, when their big traditional celebration was.

Everyone in the village had already been preparing for weeks, baking sweet bread and candies, preparing meat, crafting beautiful decoration. It was Easter, the time to be merry because new life was blooming, happiness under the now warmer sun- she froze, her hands stopping to cut the carrots she had been adding to the soup.

Easter...a shudder ran through her, making her feel chilly, but she quickly shook the feeling off, trying to concentrate on the food. She didn't have to be worried. That..._event_ had been long ago, it couldn't happen to her again, she wasn't suited for it anymore, being too old and having children now. But then...why was she still feeling so uneasy?

She only knew something bad was about to happen. But...what?

"Get a grasp on yourself Sarah", she scolded herself, "It's not the time to be worried over nothing!"

Stepping outside she saw how her children were fooling around again, splashing each other with water- but there, in a corner stood the basket with washed berries, and Jack's feet looked much cleaner- though they wouldn't for long, if he continued to run around in the dirt.

That untamable boy. She had to smile, leaning against the door frame to watch them play a bit longer, the water splashing getting rougher until they were both rolling on the ground, trying to tickle each other to death.

"Hey you two wildcats! How about you stop cleaning the ground with yourself and get me some eggs to paint for after dinner, all together? It's Easter tomorrow, haven't you forgotten?"

"How could we?", Jack answered, sound muffled due being pressed face forward into the ground with Pippa sitting on his back, arching up in a fit of giggling when she tickled him again.

"Ooh, come on Jack! Let's get the eggs! I have so many ideas how to paint the eggs this year!" "Oh, as if you could beat me in that! Remember, I already beat you last year in the 'most-creative-eggs' competition!"

"You didn't beat me! You were only one place ahead of me!", Pippa huffed and stood up, "And you're four years older than me! You paint like a three years old!"

"I didn't put any effort into it at all, you dummy, wanted to prove to you I could beat you without effort anyway!"

Jack grinned, dodging a rib jab of her elbow before both siblings disappeared into the chicken house to collect eggs. After eating the soup with vegetables and some chicken they sat at the dining table and soon were engaged in eager egg painting, the two siblings passionately discussing which pattern may look great or what colors could be used. Their mother could only laugh at their bickering, adding a few playful- motherly jabs at them just for fun, telling them about the sweet bread she intended to bake at night and what hair style Pippa wanted for the festivity tomorrow.

They were so preoccupied with their egg painting that they first didn't notice that someone was knocking on their door, only hearing it after the third time.

"Jack, could you go and open to see who it is? I think it is Mrs. Woodenscales, she wanted to give me a recipe for sweet pudding to make some more for tomorrow-"

"Already on!", Jack exclaimed and ran to open the door.

But it wasn't their neighbor- a nice, red haired women with an equally red haired giant of a man, with the two most wild twins Jack had ever seen. In place of her there stood the village's herald or messenger, a medium sized, light brown haired man who always wore the expression of being exhausted and mild suffering.

He was responsible for announcing important things like meetings in the village hall, upcoming marriages, incoming merchants and all that stuff. And of course he knew everyone in the whole village by his or her name, from the tiniest, new born baby to the oldest couple.

"Good day, Jack", he said, looking like he wanted nothing more but to fall onto his bed and sleep.

"Hello !", Jack politely replied, looking at him curious,

"What brings you to our house?"

"I'm here to announce you tha- oh, shouldn't your mother be the one to receive this first?"

Jack rolled his eyes and grabbed the surprised messenger at his arm to drag him inside- not like he hadn't been inside before- towards his mother and sister.

"Oh, hello Mr. Doroby!", his mother immediately greeted him politely with a smile, "What brings you here today? Hopefully not something bad?"

The man sighed, wiping his forehead while he longingly peeked at the bowl of blueberries, saying: "Well, that depends. First, message reached us that your dear grandparents will arrive here at evening on this day-"

"North and Toothiana will come?! Oh, that's awesome!", Jack exclaimed, jumping up excitedly while Pippa beamed, fidgeting on her chair, next to her their mother laughed in joy, smiling:

"Oh, what wonderful news! You two must help me prepare the guestroom, okay? Oh, and Jack, you gotta check the food, if there's still enough flour for supper left, otherwise you'll have to go buy some-", she interrupted herself, noticing that Mr. Doroby still wanted to say something. "Oh, I'm sorry to have interrupted you, please go on".

" It was no problem, Mrs. Overland. So, second...about that, I'm not the one to tell you what exactly- I'm just supposed to tell everyone we have an urgent meeting at the hall..."

"Oh, I see", Jack's mother said surprised, frowning a little before she looked back at the herald.

"Is that all? If yes, thank you. I guess we will see each other soon? At the meeting?"

"Oh, yes, of course", Mr. Doroby replied, twitching surprised when Jack handed him a few blueberries with a knowing grin, smiling lightly in return before he turned and trudged out to continue calling everyone to their meeting.

"Hey Pip, how about we already go to get a good place, hm?", he teased his sister, knowing exactly she didn't like being called like that.

"Don't call me that, it's a baby name! I'm already fourteen years old you dimwit!", she replied huffing, but stood up anyway, both looking at their mother who was staring at the egg she had been painting.

"Mom? You wanna come too? Or do you still need to do something else?"

"What? Oh, no. No, I'll go with you now. Though I doubt we will get good places, we're one of the last houses."

"Ah, damn-", "Jack, language!"

"I mean, what a pity. Shall I take you on my shoulders then Pippa?", Jack grinned at his sister, snickering when she jabbed him annoyed, but also with a grin.

"You jerk, don't you dare! I'm too old and heavy to be carried on your shoulders like a little kid!"

Laughing they walked outside, followed by their mother until they reached the meeting hall. It wasn't as big as you thought at the word 'hall', but it was big enough for at least half of the village to fit in. Actually it wasn't even one, single building, but the house of their mayor, an older, but still quite fit man with silver gray hair.

"Dear people of the village! I'm happy to see everyone has followed my call to meet here, since it is about a very important matter." He stopped to smooth out his beard a little, continuing:

"As you know, tomorrow is Easter, one of the most important celebrations- I could say practically the most important. We celebrate the begin of spring, the begin of new life and pray for a good year full with plenty of harvest, healthy children and a growing population of cattle. All in the name of him, the god of fertility, bringer of spring- Aster.

He is the one who grants our wishes and presents us with what we need to live- and for that he demands something in return. You all know this old tradition we have since our ancestors first arrived here- this rule that we must follow to not incur the wrath of Aster upon us, for that our harvest, cattle, the whole village will be punished with misery and suffering.

During all this years here it has only happened once to another village which refused to give what Aster demanded. You all know that this village has been wiped out without mercy, not a single soul survived his wrath. You know what our god of fertility demands. This celebration is for him, we celebrate him and his power, his mercy to grant us what we need for life, what keeps us alive and well- and it pleases him, but he also wants something else.

The annual tributes. This year, it is our turn to offer one."

At this words the whole crowd, which had been chattering quietly amongst each other, grew completely silent. The aura of anticipation and excitement was erased, replaced by seriousness and a subliminal hint of nervousness- and fear. Jack, next to his sister, froze, the joy of knowing their grandparents where about to come washed away by an icy feeling inside his chest. The tributes. Of course he knew what that meant.

Everyone knew what it meant to be a tribute in the village- parents told their children about this very early, when they were ready to go to school. And later, when they were old enough to get seriously educated about what exactly happened in the night of a freshly married couple, the duty a woman and man had...

That was the time when they got taught about the tributes in every detail- who got chosen, what had to be done- like the ritual washing, the decorating of the tribute before she was sent into the woods. Or the thoroughly, complete physical examination a tribute had to go through, to make sure she was pure in every sense, that she was beautiful and without any flaw which could possibly anger their god.

The examination was always carried out by the priest and village elders, the oldest women and men who also served as a council for the mayor. And what exactly happened in that night the tribute went to their god Aster- to give herself to him, completely and without any resistance. To offer her body to their god of fertility. Of course Jack knew about this- but it had been so long ago since the last time their village had to bring a tribute.

He had almost forgotten about it, too absorbed in helping his mother, playing with his sister and doing whatever he could to make sure they had a good life as only three people, without their father, his mother's husband who had died early. There had been so many other things which had occupied his head, that and that he somehow had thought it still be a long time until they were the village to do the duty next.

He knew being a tribute made you highly sought after- all young men would immediately start courting that girl with both eagerness and heat, passionate and wild to get her hand. Marrying- and sleeping with a tribute brought lots of wealth, not only to the man she would marry later and their families, but also a bit to the village- the fertility was increased, there would be much more harvest, fat cattle and healthy children be born.

The economy, the trading with other villages or even one of the big cities- if they had the right trade routes- would also increase and make them richer. It was some kind of strange, ancient magic he didn't understand, that a part of the god's fertility got conveyed onto his tribute as some kind of pay off. As far as he knew no girl which had been chosen had ever refused to go- only twice.

One time, a girl had resisted heavily, not wanting to set one foot into the woods because of what she would have to do. She had been brutally punished at the village square, whipped until the skin on her back had burst and heavily bleeding, her being long unconscious at that time, having screamed in sheer pain the whole time.

The other time, the whole village had refused to choose one girl among them to be offered- resulting in their entire place being wiped out, every living soul being killed with no mercy. No one had survived the wrath of Aster- neither the people nor their cattle. That alone was reason enough to not refuse if you had to go- even if it meant you had to spread your legs for a god who didn't even have the form of a human but that of a giant rabbit.

But Jack was pretty sure that, even if no one had ever refused again after those two times, some girls had been still forced to go, since it was seen as a disgrace to the village if you didn't want to go. Feeling numb he slowly looked at his mother, flinching when he saw the way she looked. She was completely pale under her healthy skin color, trembling almost invisibly, tightly holding her hands, her eyes flickering over to Pippa who had taken her mother's hand, looking frightened.

Oh god, Pippa. But, she was still too young to be chosen as a candidate for the final selection of who would be the tribute- right? He desperately tried to remember at what age a girl could become a candidate and maybe a tribute, but he wasn't able to, the memory too vague. No, she wouldn't be even among the names, he was sure of that. Before he was able to think any longer the mayor carried on, looking serious:

" We were chosen this time to do this duty, this thing we owe our god Aster. This time it is our turn to offer him a tribute- a young, virgin maiden, completely pure and untouched. For this, all young maiden's names will be written on papers and put into a box and mixed to guarantee a completely unaffected choice tomorrow afternoon.

I will start with listing all girl's names who are suitable to become a tribute this year: Abby Lansyon. Sione Morrane. Katherine Straffler. Mary Locket. Debby Mclayne. Hannah Brown.

Juliana Brickfold. Elaine Woodsmith. Evangeline Sinclair. Christine Verone. Valery Hallbor. Pippa Overland." No. Jack turned and looked at his sister who had her eyes wide open, trembling and pale before he quickly ran over to her, taking her hand to squeeze it tight. He could hear and see how the families of the candidates reacted, some looked surprised, but tired like they saw it as a unpleasant thing which you did the sooner the better. Others looked even proud, giving their daughters encouraging pats and hugs.

Some families though looked just like Jack felt- shocked and unbelieving, but with still hope in their faces. After all, it were twelve girls, and anyone, really anyone could become the tribute. The girls mostly reacted similar like their families- but he could still see it in the eyes of every girl. Fear. There was a reason no one who had been a tribute liked to talk about that night when they gave themselves to their god. No one came back...unchanged.

"So, now that everyone knows about the candidates...The tribute will be chosen tomorrow in the afternoon, at the end of our Easter celebration. So...hereby, I declare this meeting to be finished, you can all go home now and prepare for tomorrow."

The crowd slowly dissolved, everyone heading to their homes while quietly talking to each other or completely silent- like Jack and his mother and sister. They quietly walked back to their house, simply holding hands, minds deep in thoughts- only to be surprised by a loud, booming voice.

"Oi, there they are! What took you so long, we've been waiting 'ere for thirty minutes now!"

It was no one else then North, their grandfather, a big, still incredible strong man with a long white beard and hair with an quite intimidating aura if you weren't used to him. Next to him his wife, Toothiana, looking incredible small- like she was a tiny doll- stood, looking at them with a smile, her feather ornaments shimmering in her dark brown and silver hair.

"Oh, it is so wonderful to see you all again!", she exclaimed and immediately hugged them lovingly, stroking Pippa's hair while North slapped Jack's back, making him stumble and almost fall over.

"Indeed it is", the big man added to his wife's sentences, tousling Jack's hair who, despite not feeling all too happy, couldn't help but laugh. He slapped his grandfather's hand away, shaking it instead manly, just like North appreciated. Toothiana meanwhile had hugged her stepdaughter, asking curiously:

"So, how have you three been? Has anything interesting happened in the months we were away?"

The two siblings and their mother exchanged looks, his mother looking down exhausted and Jack already wanted to tell them when North came in between:

"I forgot, we have another one who forgot to greet! Sandy! 'ey, Sandy, wake up!" he yelled, standing in front of their carriage pulled by two horses- which was, as always, full to the top with many fascinating things. But North was more focused on another one they all hadn't seen immediately, a body which was soundly asleep in a pile of strange stuff.

The body stirred, sleepy golden eyes opened and closed before fully opening, their owner yawned and stretched a little.

"Sandy!", Pippa called out, distracted from the terrible thing which had happened.

The man smiled warmly at her, his blonde hair as spiky and unruly as always, just like his lightly crinkled shirt and the brown coat with dozens of medical stuff. Sandy climbed off the carriage, slightly unbalanced, but he came down unharmed, walking over to them before shaking hands with them before pushing up his little glasses.

"So, now that our sleepyhead is awake we should move inside and drink some tea, no?",

North laughed, grabbing the horse's reins to bring them behind the house with the carriage, Jack following him quietly to help with taking the horses off their reins and putting them into the small paddock they had. After that both males went back inside, joining Toothiana, Sandy, Pippa and Jack's mother who were already at the dining table, tea in cups steaming on the wooden table.

"So, now that we're all together, tell us, what has happened so far? Since North interrupted you so roughly before I wanted to ask again", Toothiana smiled, rolling her eyes at North's indignant exclaim:

"But, honey! I just wanted Sandy to wake up!" before she looked at them expectant.

"So?"

Jack looked up from his cup of tea, staring at his little family. But his mother just shook her head, wearing a tired and depressed expression while Pippa kept her mouth closed tight, looking down at her lap. Toothiana frowned, her strange purple colored eyes staring at their faces, her worry visible increasing.

"What has happened? Why are you all looking like that? Tell me!"

"Right, why are you all pulling faces like that? You are looking like someone of you will die! Tomorrow is Easter, so shouldn't you be all merry and happy? Is nice celebration, I remember last time we were there-"

"That's not it", Jack quietly said, making his grandparents immediately shut up and looking at him, Sandy who had been listening the whole time straightened up a bit, his golden eyes fixing the younger male.

Jack looked down, staring into his cup, his eyes following the slight swirling and sloshing of the hot liquid inside before he started to talk.

" We had a meeting of the whole village today, it was about tomorrow's Easter. We...the village...got chosen to offer a tribute to Aster this year. And Pippa is one of the candidates."

His words hit like a bomb, North reeled back, blue eyes wide, Toothiana put a hand in front of her mouth while Sandy nearly spilled his hot tea he was about to drink. For a moment no one said a word, too overwhelmed by what they had just heard, then Toothiana sighed, putting a hand onto Pippa's shoulder, making her look up.

"You don't have to be afraid sweetie", she said soothingly, smiling. "I don't think you will get chosen. There are still many other girls, and older, too, it is more likely one of them will get chosen."

She looked at Jack, eyes calm:

"How many were chosen?"

"Twelve", the young male slowly replied, realizing what she said was true. There were twelve girls, the chance for Pippa to be chosen wasn't that big with eleven others being there, too. Hope rose inside him and he calmed down a bit, even managing a smile while looking at Pippa who smiled back tentative, her brown eyes not as scared as before. Even his mother looked a bit calmer now, smiling gratefully at Toothiana who warmly smiled back, the aura around them visibly calmer and happier before. They all spent the rest of the evening together, Jack's mother baking sweet bread and pudding with Toothiana while Jack and Pippa listened, captivated, from North's stories about what they had experienced during their traveling and what it was like to trade in one of the big cities.

Sandy also 'told' them stories- he didn't really speak, but he could draw very good and conjured beautiful little pictures on paper, of what he had seen with North and Toothiana, or, later about the sickness and wounds he had treated as a doctor. Some of these pictures he drew were so explicitly gruesome that Jack and Pippa both gaped in appalled fascination, making Toothiana whenever she looked what they were doing angrily scold Sandy how he could show things like that to kids.

But the halfway happy night went over all too soon, and the next day came, the day of the Easter celebration had arrived. Everyone was up and awake, busily running around to put everything in place for the big feast later under several big tent pavilions in the colors of spring. The smell of fresh bread, sweet or normal, was everywhere, just like that of spring candies, sugared pieces of berries and similar things.

But, even with all the people being busy and the village looking so beautifully colorful you could still feel it- the slight tenseness underneath it, that nervousness vibrating in the air. Because today one of them would be offered to their god Aster. Jack experienced the day in an almost trance like state, everything seemed to flow past him in colorful splotches- and yet he saw everything, like it was in slow motion, running past him like dogged honey. The Easter day usually started with a short song, a sort of wake up song.

Next was then the presenting of the food offerings each family had made, in big, handwoven baskets, all put up on a field in the shape of a flower. This was followed by a one three hour walk over each field the village people possessed, their priest pacing in front of them, followed by the youngest children who strew water and salt and the village people, all singing a prayer for fertility again and again. After that was over it would already be past the usual dinner time.

The thing next was the ritual dances, dancers, wrapped in robes of fertility colors, would dance in front of an altar, every step they made accompanied by the sound of the bells ringing on their ankles and wrists. Jack had always liked the dancing the most- there was something magic about watching it, the strong, yet graceful movements of the dancers.

The way they would slowly go faster until the sweat was pouring off them, another offering for their fertility god, going faster, faster, faster till they were spent, with the sound of drums, pipes and singing. It was a hypnotic show, his eyes followed every move, every twitch with a deep longing, wishing he could join. It hadn't been like he wasn't old enough, but he had never found the time to sign up- the dances had to be practiced for months, and he was always busy with helping out at home. Though now he didn't know if he were even be able to dance properly, with knowing that Pippa was one of the candidates.

Next was a bit more gruesome- the sacrifice of a young bull and a cow. The priest cut through their throats while singing another prayer for fertility, accompanied by the village people, and collected the fresh, hot blood running down their throats. The priest himself took the first gulp before walking over to the people.

He carried the bowl to them, marking them with the symbol of fertility, the symbol of Aster on their foreheads before they were allowed to take a gulp as well. The meat of the dead cow and bull would be later roasted over the huge Easter fire, when they all sat down to feast together under the tent pavilions.

But before that came, first a singing contest took place, the winner was allowed to sing the fertility prayer they had before the big feast, followed by the 'most-creative-eggs' competition which was more for the younger ones, a kind of compensation since they had to stay away when the cow sacrifice had taken place, only being sent back after to receive their marking and a gulp.

Despite having said so, Pippa didn't take part like she had so wanted, and he knew why- she didn't wanted to be more in the center of attention like all the other candidates. His heart ached for her, but he still kept that hope inside him alight- there were eleven other girls after all. During the feast he had gotten more and more nervous, not knowing if he should wish for the feast to be over as quick as possible- or to have it never end at all.

He hadn't even been able to eat a lot- despite the really delicious looking and smelling food displayed in front of him. And then, it was time. The time for drawing the name of the girl had come- the name of the girl who would become the virgin tribute in this night. The whole village had now assembled in front of the big hall, standing there, the air was now completely quiet and tense- you could have cut with a knife through it.

The priest now stood in front of them on the stairs, which lead up to the small platform in front of the big hall, looking down at them.

"All candidates, please come up and stand in front of the stairs. It is time to see which one of you will be chosen as the tribute..."

Followed by murmurs, the girls started to move, one by one to stand in front of the stair. Just then Jack felt something brush his hands and looked around, only to stare into big brown eyes so similar to his own.

"Jack! Jack! I'm scared...", Pippa whispered, her eyes huge with both nervousness and fear, her smaller hand warm and tight in his. Jack's mind reeled, gears grinding while he hectically tried to think of something to cheer her up a bit.

"Hey, don't be afraid, okay? It's gonna be alright, so...just- just think about it: there are eleven other girls who could be chosen, right? Just repeat that in your mind, over and over again, and everything's gonna be alright!"

The brown haired girl looked at him, still afraid but not as much as before, trying to smile at him which made him smile back weakly, he softly brushed her cheek with his hand, whispering:

"And if they choose you...I'll save you. Somehow. I'll find a way. Okay? Now go".

Pippa reluctantly let go of his hand, smiling a tiny smile before she turned around and walked through the crowd, joining the other girls who were standing with their back towards the crowd. He could feel how three other people came closer to him, his mother, arm in arm with Toothiana, next to them North who looked up at the platform with a dark expression.

Together they watched how the last girl joined the others, all standing perfectly still- everyone was now looking up to the priest who nodded to his helpers. Two came forward, one was carrying the black, round urn where all the names were inside, the other one had a black piece of cloth in his hand- a blindfold. Bowing his head, the priest let his helper put the cloth around his eyes before standing still, hands demanding the urn.

The other helper came closer, placing the urn in front of the man before withdrawing respectfully. All eyes were now on the priest who slowly opened the closed urn, waiting for a short moment before letting one of his hands dive into it's inside to pull out one single, folded piece of paper.

It was so silent that Jack could practically hear his own, frantic heartbeat, pounding in his ears while he stared at the older man. He watched how he slowly took off the blindfold and handed it over to his helper, hands on the paper the man slowly opened it, his eyes wandering over the name written on it. In the next moment he looked up and spoke:

"Pippa Overland." The crowd sighed out in one breath before everyone started to murmur hectically and fast- but Jack could only stand there, frozen, feeling his heart pounding loud in his ears, fast and loud, too loud. No. that couldn't be. No. Not her. Not Pippa. _Not his little sister_.

He opened his mouth to scream, but all that came out was air. He could feel his mother starting to shake next to him, only supported by Toothiana holding her, while all he could do was to numbly stare how two of the men came down to get Pippa, who was trembling slightly, letting herself get pulled up the stairs, towards the big hall.

Just before they reached the door she turned her head one last time, eyes locking with Jack's, a silent _help me _screaming through them before the doors were shut behind them.

"NO!"

Jack had finally found his voice again, pushing through the crowd which got him a few irritated and angry looks, but he didn't pause, hearing how North called:

"Jack, wait! What are you doing? Wait!"

The brown haired teenager stormed up the stairs in hurried steps, wild determination burning in his heart. No, he wouldn't let his sister experience _that. _He didn't know what exactly happened in that night, _what _would all happen- but he knew he didn't wanted to let his sister go. Because she would break. And he wouldn't let that happen, never.

Over his dead body.

He slammed the door open, staring into a round of surprised faces, the village eldest and the priest who had a hand on Pippa's shoulder. Behind him he heard three more foot steps, but didn't turn around- he knew who it was- instead he stared at the others, face hard and determined.

The priest was the first to recover from the surprise and shock, snapping:

"Jack, what are you doing here? You are not allowed to come in here- not any longer after the choice! You know that we have to prepare her for tonight's offering-"

"No, not Pippa!", he exclaimed and straightened up, not avoiding the priest's angry glare.

"You can't go against it, it has been decided! Pippa shall be this annual tribute to Aster!"

"She is too young for this- this _thing _to happen to her!", Jack heatedly replied.

"You know very well how many girls have already been married at this age. This is not an argument I could let count."

"No! I won't let you take her away as a tribute! I refuse to let this happen!"

"We have _no other choice_, Jack! We have to bring this sacrifice, this offering to him, if not we'll incur his wrath! How can you dare to think you could take her away from her being chosen as a tribute? Do you think, that, just because she is your little sister she can be the expectation?

She was chosen, she is a young, pure maiden, a virgin, just like Aster desires it to be. It is a honor to be chosen as his tribute and brings wealth to your family, your sister can see herself as lucky to be chosen! Don't you know that? There is nothing you can change about it, so go now. Leave this place, you weren't allowed here anyway. And take your family with you. We have to prepare her for tonight."

With that, the priest turned around, still having Pippa's shoulder in his grip while guiding her to the examination room.

"No, wait!",

Jack yelled, thoughts racing in his head while desperately tried to come up with something to save Pippa from experiencing this. Of course he didn't want his village to get destroyed. But he also didn't want Pippa to go as a tribute. Not his precious little sister, who looked still so young in her sleep, who listened to his fairytales while huddling under the blanket.

Who giggled with the other girls at her age over the boys acting all silly- and having a small crush on one of them, a boy with honey colored hair and freckles who's father was a blacksmith. His Pippa, who was just starting to grasp, starting to realize, to slowly experience what love exactly was. He'll be damned if he let her be offered as a tribute.

His mind came to a hold, suddenly perfectly calm and in beat, a cool, icy determination in his eyes. There was only one thing he could do. He stepped forward, eyes fixed on the retreating priest before he took a deep breath and yelled:

"Then take me!"

"What?"

Both the elders and the priest froze, turning around in surprise.

"What did you say?", the older man wanted to know, staring at him.

"I said, take me", the brown eyed male repeated slowly, staring back firmly.

"Take me instead of her. All you need is a virgin tribute, right? So, take me in her place."

His words were met with a shocked silence, everyone was staring at him with wide open mouths. The priest first recovered from the shock, slowly saying unbelieving:

"You are offering yourself instead of your sister? Voluntarily? To be a virgin tribute?"

"Yes", the teenager flatly replied, ignoring the quiet groan of horror made by his mother.

One of the elders, an older male, came closer, snapping:

"How can you even dare to think you could simply replace your sister? This was chosen by fate! Not to mention that you're a boy, a _male_! There has never been a _male tribute _before, and there won't be now! Why should our god Aster even want you?!"

"Wait".

The priest lifted his hand to silence the man's ranting, letting go of Pippa he slowly walked closer until he stood right in front of Jack, staring down at him with an intensive look. The younger male stared back firmly, never avoiding eye contact. The older man was silent for a few seconds before slowly asking:

"Do you know what this means? If you take your sister's place? It is not only that you are a boy- normally it is forbidden to change anything after the tribute has been chosen and can get you heavy punishment. It is normal that the tribute gets heavily courted after coming back, because of the piece of fertility magic being conveyed, the others would feel cheated and dishonored if you'd be the one who went."

He turned, staring at Pippa who's eyes flickered back between Jack, her mother and the priest, looking afraid and in panic.

"Your sister", he spoke,

"Would you give her away to one of the courting men or boys, if one of the proposals come from someone you'd like as her husband? After she comes back from her tribute night, in the following weeks or months?"

He snarled, biting a sharp reply:

"No. My mother and me- and my grandparents surely even less- would never force her to marry someone against her will. She should be the one to decide whom she wants to marry, fertility magic or not."

"Hmm...", the priest regarded him thoughtfully, eyes wandering up and down his body before returning to his face, staying there.

"Are you serious with this?"

"Yes".

"And you are aware of what that means for you? I couldn't let anyone know this, the village would make a turmoil- which means you and your family would have to stay absolutely silent over this. Tributes may be often married off rather quickly, but everyone knows that can also take place several years later if deemed right from the family."

He came closer to Jack, until their noses were almost touching, before the priest slowly spoke:

"If you take your sister's place and become the tribute...That means you have to go through _everything _a normal tribute would have to go through, too. Everything. No expectation, no mercy. Do you still agree?"

Jack didn't hesitate even for a second, immediately answering:

"Yes."

"Then it is decided. Jackson Overland Frost, I declare you as the new tribute, in place of your sister Pippa Overland. Come, follow me, we have to start with the test and preparations."

The brown haired teenager nodded, stiffly following the man towards the room where the test takes places.

"Wait, Jack!" His mother's voice made him freeze shortly, turning his head he looked at her. She was standing between North and Toothiana, Pippa being held by her, her light brown eyes fixed at Jack with a look mixed with fear and horror and something else he didn't understand.

She opened her mouth, but was unable to say anything, eyes never leaving Jack. And suddenly, he knew. He knew why she had been that pale, knew why she had acted strange yesterday- but it was too late to say anything. So all he could do was to smile one last time at his family before he was pulled into the test room.

The door closed with dull sound behind him, lock closing, making him swallow. But nevertheless he kept his head high, refusing to crumble under the looks of the elders and the priest who were all staring at him now intensely.

No one said anything for a while, until the priest broke the silence, saying clipped:

"Clothes off."

"What?".

Jack stared at him, not sure if he had heard right.

"You heard me right. You are a tribute now, and to make sure you are really suited we have to examine your body."

The brown haired teenager swallowed, suddenly feeling like he had been trapped in a corner, about to get swallowed. He wasn't shy about his body- not that he ran around naked or anything, but to completely strip in front of the elders and the priest...But- he had no other choice. Nodding stiffly he started to open the strings which kept his shirt shut, taking off his vest before he pulled the shirt over his head.

Next were his pants. His fingers slid over his belt, quickly ripping it open to loosen his pants around his hips. They fell down and pooled around his ankles before he quickly kicked them off, grabbing his underwear to pull it down with one quick movement, stepping out of them to put them onto the pile of clothes next to him.

Now he was completely naked, bared to their eyes- and he could feel them, how they slowly wandered up and down his body, burning on his skin. He resisted the urge to curl up and hide his nakedness, nor did he cross his arms in front of his chest. Instead he concentrated on breathing slowly and even, to keep himself calm, lifting his chin in defense at their look.

One of the older man, a soft looking guy with a small beard was the first to speak:

"Well...I can't really say that he is less appealing or attractive than a female tribute. He doesn't look ugly in the least. He has...something which makes him stand out in a certain way, makes him...attractive and very...desirable. Don't you agree?"

One of the women nodded, eying Jack slowly, her eyes a grayish green:

"I agree with you. He might not be a girl- but the male body has his charms, too. He is still so young, and as far as I can see he has no visible flaw. He looks absolutely beautiful".

She stood up from her seat, walking closer to Jack, staring at his skin. The others followed, eying him from head to toe, but no one touched him- that was the priest's duty.

"Come here Jack", the older, gray haired man ordered him, waiting till he had stiffly walked to where the man had shown him to go. He was now standing right in front of the examination table, made of dark stone which had been worked on until it was as smooth as marble, shimmering dully.

"Lay down", he heard the man say and slowly did as he was told, his blood pounding in his ears as he laid down, shivering unwillingly at the coolness of the stone on his naked skin.

Breath. In. Out. In. Out.

He didn't want to loose control and instead focused on looking at the ceiling, seeing from the corners of his eyes how the priest had come closer until he now stood next to the table. Although he had mentally steeled himself for it he couldn't suppress the feeling of his skin crawling at the first touch of hands on his stomach, gritting his teeth. He was no stranger to his body, having explored it again and again with the curiosity of first a young child, then later that of a teenager, wanting to know how everything felt, moved, smelt.

He had touched himself, slowly, purposely, hidden in the woods, not only because it felt good and was kind of forbidden. But also because he had wanted to feel it, the way his skin would grow warmer with pleasure, the way his breath would go faster, the increasing pulse of his blood under his skin. But no one, no one had ever touched him. Somehow, this whole, secret checking out of the girls had rushed past him.

Sure, he had found a few to be pretty, hot even- but he had never tried to get closer to one of them. He had, secretly dreamed of this thing, called true love his mother had told him about. Painting himself daydreams in his mind where he spent time with the one he had found true love with. The only one he would let touch his body like this.

And now, a part of this small dream broke, disappearing with the priest's hands on him, testing, prodding and kneading him.

"Skin: a healthy, nice color, smooth to the touch expect his hands and feet. No scars", the priest listed, hand sliding along his arms, stomach, legs.

"Body is lean, but well muscled due his work, not too thin or too fat- just right. His body has no abnormity anywhere. His manhood is healthy looking, too, growth of pubic hair, but not too much- that can be shaved later."

Hands pressed against his manhood, and he almost, almost recoiled but forced himself to stay still. He wanted nothing more then to push those hands away which were now touching his most private parts. They wrapped around his cock, fondling his balls carefully in search for any abnormity and even pulled on his foreskin, making him hiss under his breath. But he stayed still, just letting his fists clench until his knuckles turned white at the disgust, fear and humiliation he felt.

"Nipples are normal, too, slightly rosy and appealing...".

The hands disappeared from his body, instead now touching his face.

"The hair is smooth and with a nice, virile color. Head shape is good, too. A straight nose, not too small, well formed cheekbones, forehead in right proportion...a firm, but not too big chin. Eyes are brown, like the hair, and not too far away from each other. Bigger then normal, but that looks good on him. The mouth..."

The hands now touched his mouth, urging him to open it, and despite the urge to simply bite into those fingers he didn't resist, opening his mouth willingly. The fingers slipped inside, making him almost choke, but he suppressed it, feeling how they touched his teeth and gum, pulling the lips down to get a better look.

"Teeth and gum look good, too, no cavity or anything. The lips...are perfectly balanced and not too thin, just full enough."

The hands pressed against his side and he obeyed, rolling until he was laying on his stomach, pressing his face against the cold stone. The hands now slid over his back, up and down, pressing down to see the way his muscles tensed in response before. They kneaded his shoulders before gliding over his neck, making him shudder slightly before they went lower and palmed his ass.

Jack stiffened slightly, taking in a deep breath before he forced himself to relax. He could feel how the hands traced the form of his ass, gripping it slightly to squeeze it before running down his thighs and calves.

"Back is strong and smooth like his front, no flaw. His behind is just perfectly shaped and firm, also very smooth and appealing...".

Finally the hands disappeared from his body and he let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Stand up now, Jack".

Breathing in shortly the brown haired climbed off the desk, already wanting to walk over to his clothes and put them back, but the priest's voice stopped him.

"We are not finished."

"What else?", he asked, staring at the older man, doing his best to suppress his anger and humiliation he felt.

"We have examined your body now and have deemed it as definitely worthy and appealing to be a tribute. But we haven't confirmed the most crucial part of being a tribute."

It took the younger male a moment to grasp what he was talking about before he almost flushed.

"I...I never had any...intimate encounters with girls, never. I never had...sex...".

He could still feel a light blush on his cheeks, making them just a hint redder then normally, but he still didn't avoid the eye contact with the priest.

"We know that", the gray haired man replied shortly,

"I could confirm this when I was examining your manhood and through your reactions. But I have to examine something else with you being a male tribute, so...Bend over."

"What?", Jack answered, staring at the older man in disbelief.

"You heard me right. You made your choice to go instead of your sister, so bend over now. You can use the table as a support."

"But...what do you need to...examine on me to make sure I'm a virgin?",

the teenager asked, stiffly standing there, noticing how the elders looked at each other, some slightly disgusted, others curious and interested, some others like they didn't care at all- and some even like they enjoyed it, watching him being treated like that. It made his skin crawl, even worse then during the first test.

" You are not stupid, you should have heard of this. It is basically the same with a girl. The only difference is that a male has only one opening which can be used like that. Now, bend over. We still have to bring you to the ritual washing and cleaning."

Jack wasn't stupid. Of course he knew what the priest was talking about. He had overheard sometimes how a groups of males talked about this, when a man wasn't particular interested in a woman. The giggling of two girls who whispered about how they had seen two men standing suspiciously close in a way that wasn't normal.

For one second he really thought about running away, but- no. he couldn't. He had made his choice. He was doing this for Pippa. The brown haired teenager took a deep breath before walking over to the table, bending over like he was told to. He buried his face into his arms, resisting the urge to bite into them when he felt the body of the priest behind, close enough to feel his body heat on his naked skin.

"Hand me that bottle." He closed his eyes, wanting nothing more then to shut anything out, diving into the comforting darkness. His only comfort was that he had spared Pippa from experiencing this.

" Spread your legs".

He did as he was told, opening his legs wide while fighting against the terrible feeling of total exposure. The sound of a bottle being opened, the click of a lid popping off- in the next moment two hands grabbed his ass cheeks to spread them apart. He was completely exposed now to the looks of the others, and it felt even worse then when he first had to strip his clothes. To know that all eyes were on _this _part of his body, a part he himself hadn't even ever seen closely...

His head throbbed, burning with heat, shame and utter humiliation, making him feel lightheaded and sick. One hand let go of his right ass cheek, fingers which felt unpleasant cool and slick slid down the cleft of his ass until they were right over his anus, his untouched opening. When the fingers touched it, pressing against it he couldn't help but react to it, his body immediately tensing up like a bow string.

"Relax, or it will hurt Jack", the priest's voice told him, sounding serious.

And although every cell in Jack's body rebelled against it- he forced himself to relax. He slowly breathed in and out, only concentrating on the tempo of his breath, the steady fill and deflate of his lungs, trying to not think about the hands on his most private parts. He actually managed to relax, feeling that his body had gone softer, not as tense as before and heard a distant "Good".

And that was the only warning he got before he felt something- the fingers- plunge into him.

_/ NO! _/ He inwardly cried out, his eyes widening at the sensation. Immediately his body tensed up, legs wanting to close in reflex while his muscles fought against the intruder in such a private place. It burnt, to have something invading _that _place and he gasped into his arms, back arching up although he didn't wanted to. But although his body fought against this intrusion, the fingers didn't stop and continued to push deeper into him, spreading his insides with unrelenting violence.

At that moment he was glad to have hidden his face, because he couldn't keep his face from twisting in shame and pain, feeling his eyes sting with hot, angry tears. It _hurt_. It hurt, to be opened up like that, even if the fingers had been slicked before it barely helped, even when he tried to relax- it hurt. The feeling of them being _inside _him, forcing themselves deeper nearly made him cry out because it felt so wrong and painful.

But he didn't want to show it, how much it hurt him and how much he was fighting to not make a sound while his body fought against it. Instead he focused on his pulse, trying to count the single beats of his heart which was picking up it's pace. He could do this. He was strong.

He could endure th- arching up he almost bit in his arms, suppressing a hiss when the fingers forced themselves deeper, almost slipping in to the knuckles, trying to breath even. He could feel them inside him, moving around, feeling him from the inside, pushing, pressing against his inner walls. The brown haired male counted inside his head, one, two, threefourfivesixseveneightni neteneleventwelvethirteenfou rteensixteen-

In the next moment the fingers were pulled out in one move, slipping out of him. Jack almost hissed again, feeling his ass clench immediately after it before he managed to relax. Propping himself up he could hear how the priest said, towards the others:

"He is untouched- a virgin. We must now send him to his tribute preparations."

Without a further word the priest threw a cloth over Jack's shoulders and, grabbing his shoulder, guided him to the next room, followed by four helpers of him. The younger male followed without resistance, the feeling of humiliation and shame still inside him- because what else could he do? He had made his decision. The next room was down in the basement of the building, with black, smooth polished stone as the floor and an equal stone basin embedded into the floor.

A fire had already been lit, throwing flickering shadows onto the dark walls, a big caldron with water steaming inside it, another helper tending to it. Along the walls were several small shelves with different items put on them, cloths for drying, bottles with oils, dried herbs, petals and razors. The brown eyed teenager could only take a swift look before he was pulled towards the basin, watching how two helpers carried the heavy caldron to the basin.

Hot water sloshed into the basin, filling it rather quickly, then the two men walked over to the shelves and picked up several bottles of herbs and oils. The herbs were thrown into the water, accompanied by a few drops of oil, coloring the water in a light green while their smell filled the air. It was a strange smell, not one Jack had noticed before, of...life- he couldn't describe it any different- however only very, very light, barely noticeable. The cloth was taken off him and then he was put into the water, hands lowering him into it slowly.

At the first contact he hissed, it was hot, almost to the point of burning, but he sat down nevertheless, getting a bucket of it poured all over him. Coughing slightly he blinked through his wet hair and saw how the two men now knelt left and right from him, one saying:

"We will now begin with the ritual washing and cleaning of your body as a tribute."

With that they started, washing him slowly and thoroughly from head to toe, not sparing one part. Jack was barely able to stand it, how he was touched everywhere, not even allowed to wash himself. But he kept quiet and endured it, thinking of how he was doing it for Pippa.

Rather him then her.

But he still twitched back, caught of guard when he felt fingers once again prodding against his ass and already wanted to jump out. Having seemingly expected this, one man had gripped his arms carefully while the other patiently explained:

"We have to clean you here as well, so please don't fight."

Closing his eyes in defeat he gritted his teeth when he felt fingers entering him once again, not deeper then the priest who had done his examination. Though they were at least gentler then the priest himself who was standing in the corner of the room, watching silently, it was still humiliating to feel them cleaning him...inside there as well.

The washing took probably about a hour, then he was completely washed and clean, his pubic hair carefully shaved off. All this had happened with him slightly dazed, the hot water having numbed his mind a bit- but never enough to not forget the eyes watching him, seeing every part of him. As soon as his feet were on the ground he immediately got dried of any water before he was wrapped into another cloth and guided to the next room.

The room had the same polished stone floor, but instead of a basin there was a couch to lay on, also with shelves and bottles on them.

"Lay down here", the men ordered him, taking of the cloth and putting it over the couch instead where he laid down.

And again he forced himself still, enduring the alien hands on his body which applied a golden oil everywhere onto his skin before they took out bottles with different colors. He stared at the ceiling, listening to the song of fertility sung by the priest and his helpers while the gray haired man put a brush into the colors, beginning to paint on his skin.

The colors were cool and slightly dogged, getting more liquid with the warmth of his skin. The brush glided over his skin, in graceful curves, first in a dark green and then blue, around his navel and on his loins. They formed a pattern of petals, a symbol of fertility combined with the symbol for virginity. He had to wait half an hour until the color had dried and wouldn't get erased that quickly before he had to roll over onto his stomach, getting similar patterns onto his back till short over his ass.

Another half hour to wait, then he was pulled up and clothed, wrapped into the robes of a virgin tribute. It consisted of loose pants which ended shortly below his knees, showing his caves and ankles . It was followed by a long sleeved, white tunic which had a cut-out running down till his navel, exposing the painting on his loins and being held by a cloth belt in blue.

The clothes were of a precious, smooth cloth he had never worn before, feeling light on his skin. The last thing he got was a coat with a hood, made with a heavier, rougher cloth then the others. It was adorned on the seam with elegant , blue swirls and hold closed on his chest with a silver brooch in form of a sickle moon. They were all completely white, the color of purity and that of a virgin. The only ornaments he got were cloth bands in blue, bound around his wrists, the painting on his lower body and back and a delicate, silver chain with one bell around his left ankle.

"You have been prepared as tribute Jack, we will now guide you to the forest - but only to it's begin. No one else except the tribute is allowed to enter it tonight."

The priest, after one last look up and down Jack's body, placed a painted egg into his hands before stepping back a bit.

"What is this for?", the younger male asked, staring at the thing in his hands. It was smooth and beautifully painted- but he knew it was from no one in the village. He had seen more then enough egg designs to know this pattern- delicate, but strong and vivid- was from someone else.

"This", the priest explained, "This is an egg our god Aster himself has given to us, for his tribute. With this he will find you and know you are the tribute of our village."

The brown haired teenager nodded, a sinking feeling in his stomach, but before he could think any longer about this egg, made by Aster himself he was pulled forward, the priest and his helpers placing him in the middle of their little group. It was already dark now, the only light was the lamp one of the helpers was carrying while they wandered towards the forest on a trail far aside from the village- no one was allowed to watch how the tribute was brought to the forest.

The priest sung a a song for their god Aster, asking him to accept Jack as a tribute and fill the village with life while they walked, until they finally reached the woods. The forest hovered in front of them now, making Jack swallow. He had never been afraid of the forest before, whether it was day or night, but this- this was different. Tonight he wouldn't go for fun or to prove his courage. Tonight he would offer himself to their fertility god.

"From here on you have to go alone", the priest said, eying him for a moment before continuing:

"Walk until you reach the glade in the heart of the forest. Then you'll have to kneel down and wait, with the egg in your hands. He will find you."

He shortly bowed his head, straightening up before he looked at Jack, coming closer:

"It is one night only- but to you it won't seem like that. This one night will be like a whole week to you. I wish you farewell Jackson Overland Frost, may the spring's breath of life flow into you strongly."

He turned around and disappeared into the darkness, followed by his helpers, back to the village. Jack stood still and watched them until he couldn't see the light anymore, the only light he now had was that of the stars and the moon. Throwing one, last look at the village far away he slowly turned around and stared at the forest.

"I won't run away. I won't break. I won't fall", he whispered, before slowly lifting his feet and starting to walk into the forest.

It was even darker inside, shadows of the trees on the ground. The grass was cool and felt like silk under his naked feet which made no sound, except the delicate chiming of the bell on his ankle while he walked further and further. He didn't know how long he had walked, but after a while he finally reached the grade which opened up in front of him, small and silver illuminated by the moonlight. Looking around slowly he walked to the middle of it before he sat down, kneeling like he was told to with the egg in his hands.

He was scared. The blood was pounding in his ears, in his head, making him feel dizzy and vulnerable while he tried to stay calm. But it didn't work. The fear clouded his mind, making him feel small and delicate, nausea filling his stomach while his fingers trembled, barely able to keep themselves from destroying the egg. He was so nervous by now that he felt hypersensitive, twitching at every sound, every movement around him in the forest, his breath going faster with every minute.

He didn't want to be here- he wanted nothing more then to run away, back to the village and hide in his bed. But he couldn't. He couldn't let himself do this- he had made his decision.

_/ I won't run away. I won't break. I won't fall /_.

His own words echoed through his head, making him grit his teeth before he inwardly slapped himself, lifting his head.

"Pull yourself together Jack", he murmured to himself, "You are strong."

He straightened up a bit, taking a deep breath before he closed his eyes, shortly thinking of his sister. He had to do this, go through this. He could do this. He would do this. He listened to the sound of the forest, the rustling of the leaves, the steps of wild animals wandering through, the wind stroking through it, calming down slowly.

Again and again he whispered these three short sentences to himself like a mantra, eyes closed with the hood over his head, the wind caressing his face softly. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, body lax and soft, when he heard _something. _

Jack's whole body went rigid and his blood froze in his veins, his back stiffened but he forced himself to keep his eyes shut. He could feel something, _someone_, a presence- the presence of a being he had never encountered. His breath got faster unwillingly while his heart, just having calmed down a while ago, picked up it's pace again, pounding in his chest. He suddenly felt very small and...breakable.

The presence of that _someone _was overwhelming, a heavy pressure which made him want to run immediately, run and hide, scaring him like nothing else had ever before. This was not the present of a normal human or any other living being- this was that of a god. Not only his presence- there was a smell around him that made him feel strange, while it wasn't that forceful he kind of felt...attracted to it. But also scared.

What was wrong with him?! That smell pulsed of life, heavy and yet light, of the forest and it's plants, mixed with a hint of...fur, earth and...blood. Nothing like one of those really expensive perfumes his grandfather had once shown him, the almost sickly sweet smell of flowers- he hadn't really liked them.

And yet, this smell...Slowly with a dry mouth, he lifted his head while kneeling, holding the egg openly, hesitating, feeling how eyes were staring at him. Only then he dared to open his eyes, staring into the shadows in front of him.

His heart hammering in his chest he stared, freezing when he made out the shape of something very big in front of him, a pair of green eyes which directly stared into his.

He was here.

Aster, the god of fertility.

He had come to get his tribute.

**So, how did you like it?**

**Yes, I know, always the same question...**

**Normally I don't write non-con, and this will be my first try-**

**but what do you think so far?**

**Good? Bad? Terrible? Too OOC?**

**Tell me what you think and if I should continue this along the way while working on 'Infected'.**

**(And for everyone who's wondering, no, I didn't STEAL this. If you noticed, the beginning is the same as that fill of ink_eyed_stranger789. Well, that's because it's me, I'm the same person).**

**Your author Kamo-chan**

**REVIEWS PLEASE!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello my dear readers!**

**Yes. Yes, I KNOW. **

**I know. It has been a freaking long time since the last update- **

**which also was the first update, but whatever.**

**I want to apologize for making you wait so long, I'm really sorry for that. I hope you had enough other stuff to read or to do to patiently wait.**

**I had a lot of other things on my neck as well- while I was struggling to write this goddamn difficult chapter suddenly school problems came in as well, oh joy. Not to mention another, more personal thing I neither want to really say nor annoy you with.**

**So...this was like one of the most fu**ing difficult chapters to write for me, I swear.**

**I put my heart, blood and imaginary tears into that chapter, although even with that it probably turned out terribly bad written at the end.**

**I don't even want to read through it a second time, so I apologize now for possible dozens of grammar and spelling mistakes...**

**Enjoy...or not. I don't even know.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ROTG or any characters of it, otherwise...well, otherwise I wouldn't sit here and write this horrid stuff (cough)**

Jack didn't move, staring into the pair of green eyes which were staring at him. Even if he had wanted to, he probably wouldn't have been able to lift a finger anyway. He didn't know how long he had been staring into those green eyes, caught, unable to look away.

These eyes...they were nothing like those he had seen before. They had the most vivid green he had ever seen, a spring green, wild, untamable. Deep like the ocean North had once told him about and which he had never seen. The first time his grandfather had told him about all he could do was to stare at him with an expression like 'are you kidding me?' He had been born here - he hadn't been one of the colonists who had moved to the new land with ships.

His mother had told him that she had been pregnant with him when she had moved over to this land, together with his father. So he knew nothing about the ocean at all and couldn't really grasp what North had told him- which had made Sandy smiling at him. And then he had painted him a little picture of the ocean. The brown haired boy had only been able to stare in wonder, mind reeling at the image of _so much water_.

Water, just water, for miles and miles and miles, blue, wild, salty water, rearing up with the wind like a wild horse. White froth, adorning the waves like endless rows of crows. Water which you couldn't control. Water which was much, much deeper, endlessly deep compared to the lakes he had swam inside during summer. Water which was dangerous, which could pull you from your ship, down into it's never ending depths. Adamant and cold.

Swallowing you whole- with no chance of escaping. And that was the same he felt while being caught in those wild green eyes, an ocean, endlessly deep, a liquid green instead of blue. Pulling him under. And he could do nothing against it. The thought made him shiver slightly, making the eyes blink shortly.

And then, slowly, the huge shape moved, coming closer before the god finally fully stepped out of the shadows. Revealing himself. Jack couldn't help but gasp- he just couldn't suppress it- when he saw _him_, fully saw_ him_. Him. Aster, the god of fertility and life. He wasn't really prepared to the sight in front of him- his mind had been too occupied with feelings of fear and nervousness then to make up how the god could possibly look like.

Well, not wholly true. He _had _thought about how Aster could possibly look like, everyone had in their village. No one knew how he looked like- except the tributes. But not one of them had said anything at all, keeping their mouths shut about that night they had spent with him. Because of that there wasn't even one picture of him to pray to in the village- though apparently it didn't seem to bother him. He gave them good crop, fat cattle and healthy children even without that.

Since not even the priest knew about how he truly looked like the people had imagined all kind of possible forms. The only thing the village residents knew was that he was said to be a shape shifter, which made it even more difficult to think of what could possibly be his form. Some said he looked like a giant deer, with antlers which had plants growing on them, flowers and mushrooms and glowing eyes.

Others said he looked like a giant wolf, moving faster then the lightning, with razor sharp teeth and a fur as black as the night sky. Some again rejected that and insisted that he looked like a human, only with grass as his hair and plants growing on him plenty. Some of the older ones thought he more resembled a giant bear, walking on two legs like humans did and a face similar to that of them. The teenagers even guessed he might be invisible, to move around unnoticed by them- or at least be able to cover himself up in a way no one would ever notice him by using his magic.

Jack had sported a few, similar ideas on his own, puzzling over it alone on his own, sometimes with Pippa. She had once suggested that, despite everyone's belief Aster maybe didn't even look as threatening as most thought. Maybe he took on the form of something smaller, maybe like a wild cat, a fish or a fox- something fluffy and cute. At that point he had started to laugh hysterically, which had ended up with Pippa and him battling each other to the ground with pillow throws, her being furious that he had laughed at her idea.

The only strange thing had been that at her words of 'fluffy and cute' he had a short, fleeting thought of something with long ears. The familiar picture of a rabbit, running in front of him, it's short tail teetering on it's behind while he was chasing it, hunting it for food. The thought had disappeared as fast as it had come, leaving behind a strange feeling in his chest, even when he laughed about it himself. He hadn't thought that picture had come so close to reality. He felt somehow surprised. Inside his mind he had imagined Aster being more...monster beast like, more...rough and brute- he was a god after all.

Because Aster was, in fact, a rabbit.

But not one of those small, cute things he always felt a bit sorry for when he had to kill them. Oh no. Anything but...cute. He was giant, standing on his hind legs and towering over him easily by almost one and half a head- he probably was seven foot tall. His body was sleek but powerful, muscles visibly moving under the fur which wasn't black as some had thought. Instead it was a bluish gray, getting lighter on his stomach, with familiar markings on his forehead, arms and legs. The fur shimmered silkily in the moon light, a smooth, whispering rustling every time he moved a bit.

His paws, much to Jack's surprise who had anticipated real paws, weren't simple paws- at least not his front paws. They were more close to human hands, still furry, but with strong, middle long fingers- though they still had claws on them. His long ears twitched slightly, taking in every sound around them, though they never fully took of their attention on Jack who was still staring at the god in front of him. Those green eyes were still on him, staring, piercing him just like that, his sheer presence gushing over him, overwhelming him completely. He was scared like never before.

Jack could feel it with every cell in his body that this was _a god_, a being far different from his own existence. For one, short second he wanted nothing more then to run away, to run and escape this incredible, terrible pressure of just being in his _presence_. But he couldn't move, unable to lift even one finger under this piercing green stare, the attention heavy on his body. Suppressing his shivering bravely he kept still, despite his fear he didn't turn his eyes away from that stare, the stare of a god.

He watched how he, _Aster_, slowly came closer, eyes taking a quick look up and down his body and shortly lingering on the egg, nose twitching slightly. Then he spoke. "You are the tribute." His voice startled the teenager- it was deep and rough, interwoven with dark velvet, making him shiver inwardly. The brown eyed male wanted to say something, anything, to reply to those four simple words, this short sentence. But he wasn't even able to open his mouth- in the next moment strong hands grabbed him and he was lifted off the ground, crying out in surprise.

Scared and confused he twisted in the rabbit's grip, only seeing how the god thumped onto the ground before a tunnel suddenly opened up _right underneath them_. In the next second they were falling, Jack wanting to scream but unable to, just seeing how the walls came closer, closer, closer- _he was falling with nothing to hold on to_. The only thing he saw in the corner of his eyes was a gray, bluish blurred shape before he fell through the end of the tunnel.

He was caught just in time by two strong arms who let him go after catching. The brown haired teenager stumbled a few steps before regaining his balance and looking up with his breath going fast, a short, hot wave of anger rolling through him. He whirled around, ready to tell that giant rabbit god his opinion on simply dropping him into a tunnel- only to freeze in shock.

The god - _Aster_ was right in front of him, circling around him slowly in a slightly crouched stance, eyes never leaving the young male, wandering up and down his body. That look in his eyes... it wasn't one he had ever seen directed at himself. Jack started to shiver, barely able to suppress it. Their look was burning hot, piercing through his clothes like they didn't exist, practically devouring him whole. He could see it now, too- the way the big rabbit's body trembled ever so slightly, barely suppressed, waves of sheer _hunger _rolling off him.

His smell surrounded him like a second skin, heavy and dark, burning in his nose. Then he came closer, in slow, smooth steps, his hind paws making no sound on the soft, green grass. His eyes were still staring at him. Lurking. Predatory. Wild. But even with his overwhelming fear which threatened to take away his breath, even with the fear making his tediously kept control over himself crumbling...He refused to look away.

Instead he stared back, straight into those green eyes which narrowed slightly before a strange gleam lit up in them. One, two more steps, then he stood in front of him, hovering over him. With one, swift move the rabbit suddenly grabbed his coat and ripped it off, as effortlessly as ripping vellum, making him twitch back slightly. A wet, cool nose sniffed at him, at his hair before wandering down his neck, hot breath ghosting over his skin. Jack kept still, stiffly standing there, frozen with the fear making his heart beat faster then ever.

He didn't want this, didn't want this, but he had no choice- he couldn't even run away anymore. In the next second he was roughly pushed over, with a gasp he fell onto his stomach, trying to scramble away, to stand up. But before he had the chance to a strong, furred body was over him, pressing against him fiercely, trapping him. The fear, already having been overwhelming, rolled over him like an endless flood of water, making him feel like he was about to drown. _/ - I don't want this but can't, can't run away- /_

His mind was in a turmoil, unable to form one clear thought, all he could focus on now was the feeling of that heavy, hot body over him holding him down. But even on that he couldn't focus any longer, because in the next second the hands grabbed his clothes, ripping them off violently. Jack wanted to run away, to scramble away, it didn't matter, he didn't want this, he was so scared but he didn't move. Unable to suppress his trembling any longer he knelt in the grass on his hands and knees, with the rabbit's hot furred body on top of him.

His hot breath wandered over his naked skin, wet nose on his neck before, without any warning, he bit him. Jack cried out, body twitching up in shock when the sharp teeth sank into his neck without mercy, deep into his skin and holding him. He tried to scramble away, but couldn't, gasping in pain he bit into his lower lip, fingers scraping over the grass. And then it all happened very fast. He could shortly feel something big and slick pressing against his leg, hot and hard, sliding shortly and fast between his thighs while the now overwhelming musky, heavy smell clouded his senses.

Before he fully grasped what it was the hard thing jabbed against the cleft of his ass hard, once, twice, making his eyes widen because then he knew it- In the next moment the rabbit mounted him hard, pushing his hard length into him violently and opening him up with that one hard thrust. The brown haired teenager screamed out loud in pain, body arching up while he nearly collapsed, crying. _It hurt so much_. The pain was nothing like he had ever encountered, worse then any other cut, bruise or twist he had ever gotten.

The fingers which had been inside him- they were nothing compared to this, compared to this huge _thing_ inside him. He'd gladly let them examine him again in that way if it meant he wouldn't have to feel this insane pain. It felt like he was being ripped apart, agonizing, terrible, sheer _pain_, like an red hot pole was shoved up his ass. His inner muscles contracted violently, pushing, pushing to get that invading thing out but it was useless. It burnt, burnt him from the inside, his inner walls were getting spread apart incredible wide and hard.

He could _feel_ how something inside ripped, hot, pulsing pain, shooting through him, up his spine and making him cry out again. He wanted to escape this terrible pain, he wanted to beg to make it stop - but couldn't. All he was able to was to gasp for air and feel _him _inside him, invading him, breaking him, ripping him open, hurting him in a way which would never go away again. But Jack wasn't given time to adjust, none at all. In the next moment the furred hips slammed into him with force, making him cry out again while he gasped, fingers scraping over the grass uselessly.

Each hard thrust shot another wave of that hot searing pain through him, injuring his insides even further. The furred hands which had been holding him down gripped his hips hard, claws burying themselves into his skin, scratching, ripping his sides open and forcing another cry out of his throat. Yet he could do nothing then endure it, the hard, violent pounding into him, rocking his body with the force, the insane pain making his head spin.

He wasn't able to suppress the tears sliding down his cheeks, gasping and crying out again with each thrust. Fighting for the air in his lungs he tried to think of something, anything, the face of his sweet sister he did this for- but it was practically impossible. It hurt too much, to be opened up like _that_, spread open wide and raw, the rabbit's hard, long length pushing into him rapidly, again and again, hot and pulsing inside him. Especially with his muscles still fighting against it, but of course it was useless, producing only a grunt from the rabbit above him. He didn't know how long Aster had been fucking him now, maybe only minutes, maybe an hour - he had lost track of time.

But eventually his body finally gave in to the sheer pain, his arms, shaking, collapsed and made him fall down with his face first, legs buckling in exhaustion. Before he could crash onto the ground completely furred hands gripped him hard again, claws pressing into his scratched sides threateningly. The rabbit simply held him tighter, not allowing his lower body to sink down and forcing him to stay like that, with his ass up in the air while his face was buried in his arms. Jack felt light headed, body and head swimming in hot, searing pain, thumping, burning, fighting for every breath while feeling those furred hips keep pounding into him without a hold. Again and again.

Each thrust hurt a tiny bit more, drove him closer to finally lose his consciousness. After what felt like an eternity he could feel with his pain numbed mind and body how Aster's thrusting went more uncoordinated, hips pumping more frantically while he panted against his bloody neck. In the next moment he suddenly sped up once more, the force making Jack tightened up with a gasp, whimpering in pain. Sharp teeth sunk into his abused neck once more, forcing another cry out of his raw throat, and then, with a throaty, deep growl Aster finally came inside him. Hot cum spurted inside him, making his eyes roll back while he arched up involuntarily at the sensation.

Suddenly, _something _shot through him, through his veins, inside his body, and he cried out, feeling like someone had shot him adrenaline, a pulsing, liquid fire racing through his veins. At the same time his ass, more precisely, his left ass cheek started to hurt. Like, really started to hurt. Jack gasped, trying to suppress another cry- his skin felt like it was on fire, like someone was pressing a branding iron on his ass.

He would have collapsed if not of those furred hands still holding him tight, body shaking at the alien, burning sensation which slowly subsided. For a short moment Jack could breath a bit better, chest still heaving in pain while a few tears trickled down his cheek. The big rabbit was still on top of him, body trembling slightly, his heavy, musky smell clouding his nose, hot and furry. He was still inside him, buried to the hilt into him. Something wet trickled down his thighs, the metallic smell of blood and musky cum, thick and spent, running down his legs.

In the next moment Aster moved again, suddenly slamming right into him with a snap of his strong hips, making Jack cry out in both shock and pain. How was that possible? He should be spent- he couldn't be _still_ hard- but he was proven wrong when the green eyed god thrust into him again, this time with more force again. Not only that, but he even came much deeper now, his thrusts became much faster and smoother, slicked by the cum and blood inside the teenager underneath him.

The pain doubled, making Jack scream out again, his throat already sore with the screaming while new tears ran down his cheeks. He tried to breath even, to endure it bravely, but all he was able to do was to gasp, whimper while Aster fucked him into the ground. Every thrust, every new push into him increased the pain, both inside him and on his ass, making it throb and burn like mad. He didn't know how much longer Aster had been abusing his body, but eventually he just wasn't able to bear it any longer, the pain overwhelming his mind and body. In the next moment he collapsed, his mind sinking into the pleasant darkness of unconscious.

When he woke up again it took him a while to realize where he was. Brown eyes, heavy, fluttered before slowly opening a bit, the blurry sight of a lot of green and something gray in front of him. The next thing he noticed was the pain in his body, immediately flaring up as soon as he was slowly coming to his senses. He gasped, body arching up before he cried out when another wave shot through him again, sharper and much more painfully. Why did it still hurt so much, just as fresh as yesterday? Gasping for air he spacy tried to stand up, only to realize that he was laying on his back, almost only on his shoulders.

He could feel two furry hands on his thighs, holding them and spreading them wide, eyes widening when he felt hips and a hard, hot length press into him demanding, thrusting hard. He opened his eyes, body arching up with a gasp while he fully awakened, breath going fast while staring into two green eyes before he felt another thrust right into him. Aster had switched the position this time, using it to reach deeper while he thrust forward hard, deep into Jack who screamed again, hands trying to support himself on the ground while the rabbit was having his way with him. That fucking god. Starting to fuck him while he was still knocked out.

Even with the now freshly shaken up pain he still felt a spike of anger pulse through him, while trying to not cry out again under the hard thrusts into his sore ass. Instead of closing his eyes or crying again he concentrated on his breathing, trying to keep it even. Every thrust made him hiss out again and he grit his teeth, but he refused to cry again. A few thrusts later and Aster came again, pouring himself inside him which made him hiss, eyes shutting when again that wave of liquid fire rolled through his veins and body. Panting the rabbit pulled out roughly, making Jack twitch in pain and hiss while he let go of his legs- which thighs were now also scratched, red stripes on the skin.

Aster, with his hard length still bobbing between his legs, leaned down, grabbing Jack and forcing him to kneel in front of him. The teenager hissed in pain, panting he followed the hard grip on his shoulder, finding himself face to face with the huge length. His first instinct was to reel back, but he couldn't anyway, with the rabbit gripping his hair and neck now. Unable to look away he stared at it, both in horror and unwilling fascination. It really was huge, colored in a soft pink with reddish hint all over it, a few veins running along it rather thick and prominent, pulsing slightly.

The head was quite thick as well, glistening wet with cum spread all over it. The smell hit his nose, making it burn- it was very intensive, all musk and yet with a certain freshness. The hands in his hair pulled him closer roughly, making him tumble over, his cheek bumping against the head of the dick. Hissing out quietly when he was redirected. The length pressed against his lips, demanding entrance while the hands gripped his hair tighter, Aster's voice ordering him roughly: "Suck". Brown eyes stared into green ones, but one second later he looked down again. Jack struggled with himself, fighting against the urge to vomit with this _thing _right in front of his mouth. But what else could he do? He had to.

So he slowly opened his mouth, almost gagging when the cock was roughly shoved inside. The rabbit immediately started to thrust into his mouth, not caring at all about the way Jack was choking, fighting to breath through his nose with the hard dick in his mouth. It hurt awfully, his jaw was kept apart much wider then ever, the hot, hard organ sliding in and out with dirty wet sounds. He felt like he was about to suffocate, fighting for every breath, barely able to stand up straight due his sore knees and the splitting pain in his ass. The fur and it's heavy smell burnt in his nose, being pushed into it with every thrust.

The rabbit thrust into him relentlessly, as deep as he could, grunting in pleasure. The brown haired male did his best to not cry in pain, jaw burning with the wide stretch while the heavy smell numbed his senses. Or the taste on his tongue, heavy, musky and greenish plant like, slick and strangely not that foul tasting, rather the opposite. He hated every second of it. Finally, after a few more thrusts, the rabbit sped up once more, nearly making Jack cry out in pain again before he stilled, hips freezing. Wide eyed the teenager realized what that meant, twitching back lightly but the hands brutally forced him to stay still, Aster's voice, sounding tight, ordering: "_Swallow. All of it_".

Immediately he stiffened, holding still, jaw burning with pain. In the next second hot seed spurted into his mouth, making him choke violently, his gag reflex trying to get it out but it was impossible with the rabbit's length still inside his mouth. So he did as he was told, forcing himself to swallow every drop of it, feeling how some of the seed dripped down his chin- it had been a whole load. He could feel it go down his throat, thick and full, shooting another wave of that strange liquid fire through his veins, making him gasp muffled.

Aster pulled out and stepped back, turning around before he walked away, disappearing behind the many bushes without a word. Jack stared after the big rabbit, chest heaving while he took in deep breaths, now that his mouth was free again. The taste of his seed burned on his tongue, on the gums, everywhere inside his mouth, making him choke violently. Water. He need water to rinse his mouth immediately. Shakily he stood up- or tried to. As soon as he put up one feet and let the other follow a terrible, back splitting pain shot up his spine. He cried out again and almost fell over, kneeling on all fours where he stayed like that and fought to breath more even again.

God, it hurt _so much. _He wasn't even able to stand up, let alone walk without arching up in pain. But the need for fresh, cool water was so urgent that he couldn't stay where he was kneeling, curling up and silently cry in pain. His brown eyes swiped over his surrounding, over green bushes, trees and wide, endless seeming grass fields, interrupted by rock formations here and there. There just had to be water somewhere close, plants needed it, so there had to be- his ears picked up a sound of sloshing, not far away from him. His head jerked up, staring at the rocks a few meters away which were rather high. There had to be the water, hidden away from his sight- all he had to do was to walk to it.

Sucking in a deep breath he tried to stand up again, hissing when the pain shot through him. "Dammit", he breathed, eyes wandering over his surrounding once more before they suddenly spotted something long, brown and- immediately he crawled on all fours towards it. It was a long, solid stick, resembling a crook with the typical arched end on top, just more rough. Determined he grabbed it, holding onto it while he started another try to stand up. Jack slowly put up his foot, gritting his teeth in pain but he didn't stop, holding onto the staff for support whenever he feared to fall over.

Finally, after long minutes he had both feet on the ground, heavily supporting himself onto the staff. Next, walking. After the first three meters sweat started to form on his forehead while he slowly limped towards the source of water. Every step burned, searing hot inside him and on his ass- but he didn't gave up. The teenager only stopping once to slowly bend down and pick up the left over of his ripped cloths, wrapping himself into his now dirtied cloth. It was worth the blinding pain at the movement of bending down.

He wouldn't run around all naked. Even if he had been raped by a god in form of a giant rabbit – he still had his pride. The last few steps towards the small waterfall felt like an eternity to the young male, but he eventually managed it, dropping next to the natural water basin with a pale, slightly sweaty face. For a moment he just laid there, trying to catch his breath, before he drudgingly pushed himself up and pulled himself over to the basin. Immediately he bend over, using his hands to greedily shovel the clear liquid into his mouth, letting it run down his throat.

It felt wonderful. But, no matter how many gulps he took to flush it down- he could still taste the god's seed on his tongue. After a few minutes he gave up with a hiss– it didn't seem to work, and he just couldn't drink any more water. The cool water felt like balsam on his skin when he splashed it into his face, scrubbing it clean before he slowly tried to get into a comfortable position which didn't hurt his abused ass too much. When he let the water splash over his ass he had to muffle a small cry, trembling before he reached down, fingers twitching back. Jack gritted his teeth, pausing, hesitating before he reached down lower, hissing out when his fingers touched his abused opening.

It hurt to touch it- but he had no other choice. Breathing in deeply he closed his eyes and, trembling slightly, slowly pushed his fingers inside himself. The pain flared up again, hot and biting, but he gritted his teeth, pushing them deeper before he started to move them carefully. It felt slick and hot around his fingers while he moved them before pulling out with a hiss, feeling how some cum trickled out. He repeated that painful act two more times, in the end he just gave up- it hurt too much to try and reach deep enough to get it all out, scraping against the sore, sensitive inner walls.

With his aching body he strained dragged himself a bit away from the water fall, falling down under a bigger tree. The grass was soft there, and with a sigh he curled up, covering his naked, trembling body as good as possible with the cloak. Despite the aching pain and feeling of exhaustion he didn't want to fall asleep just like that. Jack moved to get a bit more comfortable, hissing out when another pain wave rolled through him, sending his thoughts reeling back to the memories of the forceful act itself. The feeling of being forced down, the biting, the terrible pain of being split open, fur against his ass-

Quickly he shook his head, ripping himself out of the still all too fresh mental wound. He didn't want to think about _that _right now, no. Yet the reminder had shaken awake a question he had completely forgotten over his quest to get some water: Where was Aster? The time he was supposed to be kept here wasn't over yet, far from. What did the god do? Where had he gone? Why had he gone? Why did he even do this? Why did he demand a tribute every year around Easter? Was it really just to...fuck the chosen one and then send him back?

The thoughts ran through Jack's head while he stared at the little water fall, the splashing, glistening drops in the air. Questions to which he probably would never find an answer for. How should he know, find out what a god was thinking? His reasons for acting? He was just a young teenager, a young man if you wanted to be more precise- the tribute which got fucked this time. Why should he care? As soon as this was over he could forget this, forget everything. So why bother thinking about it? He didn't want to think about Aster, or this strange place he had been brought too. He just wanted to go home. So, until that time was over he had to endure this pain.

Not wanting to walk around- not like he could anyway with the aching pain in his lower body- he curled up in a somewhat comfortable position and closed his eyes. It took him a while to fall asleep, but he eventually managed, the soothing darkness pulling him away from the pain, body curled up with the staff leaning next to him against the tree. He wasn't aware of the pair of green eyes which were on him, having watched him the whole time. But he wasn't too surprised to wake up to hot, searing pain in the next morning and find himself on his stomach, a hot, hard dick pounded into him by a large, furry and hot body leaning over him. Jack gasped out in pain, body arching up while his eyes got slightly wet- but this time he had himself under control.

It was difficult, so difficult with this pain burning him- but he didn't scream. Nor did he cry. Instead he endured it as quiet as he could, body shaking with both the pain and the force behind the thrusts into him. The brown eyed male panted into the grass, trying to concentrate on something else then the sharp pain or the pleasure filled grunts behind him. Like the green grass beneath his fingers. Or the sound of birds singing somewhere far away in this strange place. The smell of the plants, the smell of life, mixed with sweat, salt and musk, cum and other things he didn't want to think about. Anything. Just not about the pain which was burning in his nerves.

Or what exactly he was doing here. Just like yesterday- if he had the right time grasp- it took the rabbit a while to finish before he came. Aster's body stuttered for a second, his thrusting became more frantic, faster, harder before he stiffened, furry hips slamming full force into him. It hurt enough to almost make Jack cry out, but he somehow suppressed it, all which escaped him was a sharp gasp. In the next second he once again felt hot seed filling him, followed by that strange liquid fire rushing through his veins. The younger male panted, feeling light headed, hissing slightly when Aster started to pound into him again.

Another round? He should have known. But he just kept quiet again- as much as he was able to- letting the rabbit take him. Again. And again. And again. And again. Until his knees started to buckle and he collapsed, the strain putting him out of it. The last thing he felt was how Aster pulled out of him, sticky seed running down his thighs before he slipped into unconsciousness. When he woke up he was slightly disoriented at first, still not having adjusted to what he was at the moment and where he was- not that he really knew. Brown eyes blinked tiredly while he looked around, letting everything get clearer until he was fully awake. Strange.

For a moment he felt a rush of irritation before he realized what had caused this feeling. He was laying underneath the tree which was close to the water fall, his dirty coat covering his naked body- all alone. He hadn't woken up to being fucked by the god, by Aster. _/ Strange.../ _he thought, rubbing his eyes to clear them before he looked around, seeing that the staff was still there, too. _/ Maybe I should at least try to walk around a bit, can't be healthy to lay around all day.../_. Breathing in he slowly sat up, wincing at the familiar, sharp pain in his ass while his hand moved over the ground for support, suddenly brushing something. Surprised he looked down, his brown eyes widening when he saw what was laying next to him.

He hadn't expected that. Next to him, on a small pile, was a bunch of fruits, like apples and berries, blueberries and other kinds. There could only have been one...person who could have brought that. Quickly he looked up, eyes wandering over his surrounding- but if Aster was there he had hidden himself rather well. For a moment he just stared at the fruits before he reached out, hesitating, then he grabbed a hand full of blueberries, starting to eat.

Strange. Really strange. Though it made sense. Of course Aster wouldn't let his tribute die of hunger- who else should he fuck then? He couldn't forget what he had been brought here for. His only purpose was to be used by the fertility god, nothing else. He should probably be glad that he had at least gotten some food at all and not search for it on his own- especially with his abused ass. He ate slowly, carefully, savoring the taste of the fruits. They tasted wonderful- he had never eaten fruits that good, so full, rich and juicy.

After he had finished he cleaned himself with a bit of water, curling up a bit against the tree. He stared at the sky which seemed like far, far away...or was it even a sky? Or was it just a ceiling? He couldn't see it. Jack slowly closed his eyes, breathing in, taking in the smell of this place surrounding him. Although he was captured here, being here for just one purpose he hadn't wanted his sister to carry. Although his body still hurt enough to make him unable to walk, enough to actually make him feel like crying again- yet he wouldn't give in that easy.

With that in mind he slowly leaned back, closing his eyes to rest a bit, at least a bit before he had to endure another fucking. Not noticing he had been watched once again.

That boy was...different.

Green eyes stared at the lean brown haired male, who had curled up under the tree once again. Aster didn't know why- he couldn't quite put a finger on it, but, somehow...the strange impression fluttered around in his mind like a moth, searching for the answer like for the light. Bumping against walls and yet not giving up. Trying to settle himself more comfortable between the bushes which were hiding him the rabbit shifted, back arching up in both pain and pleasure when another overdose of _that _ran through his veins. Raw. Hot. Pulsing. Possessing his body and mind. Pure desire- to take, to pound, to rut- _now_.

With a quiet growl he silently stood up, sneaking around till he was coming from another direction, until he was standing right in front of the boy. He had been just a few meters away from him when the younger one's eyes flew open, deep brown eyes staring at him. Those eyes. He had never seen eyes that vivid, that strong- staring into his without looking away. Yet he could clearly see the fear inside those brown orbs, the way his body had tensed up, like he was a predator, ready to attack him. Good. He was supposed to be afraid of him. But what interested him much more right now was the smell rolling off the younger male. Slowly he came closer, feeling the arousal starting to affect his body, his cock starting to slide out.

That smell was...intoxicating. Strangely pleasant for a human. He had never really liked a human's scent like that. They smelled of...skin, dirt, sweat and a deeper, more personal tone underneath that surface. But there had never been one which had effected him that much. All these girls he had had so far, as tributes, underneath him- none had had an appealing smell. Some had had smelled of flowers, made by perfumes, some had been rubbed with expensive oils or creams. The village where that...boy came from had always left their tribute 'clean', without any extra perfume thing except for the cleaning part.

They had smelled like themselves, just like he preferred it. But nothing had ever prickled in his nose like that smell- the smell of this boy, this teenager. He smelled like...sweat. Salty sweat. Earth underneath his feet. Skin. Just like all the others. But also much more. Wood on his hands. Green plants. The hint of flowers. Dirt. Sunlight. All these things stuck on him, telling him silently where that boy ran the most around. And yet there was more, much more. These things, that smell of forest wasn't even his full smell- a part of him.

His skin smelled like milk, pale silk, as warm and firm as stone having laid in the noonday sun. Milk, full and creamy. A hint of blueberries. Dogged honey on the nape of his neck. Salt and a strange, icy, yet delicious freshness mixed with the milk. Musk, soft and sweet from his genitals, yet strong and vivid, invitingly. Practically begging to be taken, to be filled, to give life, brimming with untouched fertility. Nothing like those girls. He remembered how irritated he had been at first, when he had gone to take his tribute with him.

It should have been a girl. It was supposed to be a girl. But when he had slowly approached the white hooded figure, kneeling in the grass like the tributes were supposed to he had sensed something. At first he had thought he was mistaken, the heated urge inside him already influencing his mind too much. But, no. when he had stepped forward, slowly, making himself audible, his presence washing over the figure it had looked up immediately, and then their eyes had met for the first time. He found himself staring into a pair of deep brown eyes in a face- but not a normal face. Not a soft girl face. A male face. Male. The tribute was...a boy this time?

At that second he hadn't known what to do- then, he had taken a closer look. And found himself, much to his inner surprise, captivated by the human in front of him. A male. A young, male teenager. He wasn't ugly. Not in the least. He had a symmetric, flawless face, smooth and beautiful- yet not just soft like with a girl. He had a certain sharpness, this certain roughness which was purely male. Enticing. Calling for him. Then his smell had reached his nose. And that had been enough to tip over his short surprise and refresh the pulsing need inside him . He wanted him. Now. He didn't care if he was male. It had always been a girl, a young girl, soft and pretty, brought to the forest by her village's priest.

But never a boy. No village had ever sent a boy. Until now. It had both surprised and irritated him, but in the end, why not? He had always cared more about the untouched body of the tribute. And that boy in front of him- young, but not that young- in an age where they had often already collected experiences in that field- was pure. Untouched. As clean as freshly fallen snow. And that had been the last straw. All he had wanted was to take him, over and over again and satisfy his burning desire. And it had felt just as good as he had thought. The hot tightness around his dick, squeezing him so hard and wrenching groans out of his throat while he pounded into the boy.

He hadn't really cared how the boy had screamed underneath him, crying out in pain with his whole body shaking, sobbing, whimpering. The heat, that overdose of _it _filling his veins was controlling him fully, and all he wanted was to release it. That boy just happened to be the tribute this time who would be the vessel for it, his to use as he wanted to for a week. And why should he bother with more then necessary with them? They all screamed when he took them. It didn't matter to him- they were his tributes and he used them to fulfill his need. The sight of the boy, kneeling on the ground in front of him, his pale skin marked with red scratches while his body trembled...his seed, thick and mixed with blood running down his thighs...

It just had made him hungry for more. So he had mounted him almost immediately again, thrusting forcefully into him until the teenager had collapsed, crumbling onto the ground unconscious. Aster had left him there and pulled back to retreat, using the break to come down from the first heat wave and recover a bit. But the need, the hunger hadn't subsided for long. Maybe he would have stayed away a bit longer if not for that smell. That strange, human smell which smelled so..._good_. He just had to smell it. Directly. On his skin. Find out where exactly it came from. Why that boy's smell was so strangely appealing. So he had gone back, sneaking up on the younger male- not that it had been necessary, he was unconscious, laying on the ground, absolutely defenseless. The bunny had stared at the pale body, laying there slightly curled up before he had crouched, coming closer until his knees touched his skin.

The boy hadn't reacted, obviously too worn out from his first time being taken and deep in his exhausted sleep, just laying there while he started to explore him. His hands traveled over his arched back, tracing the scratches on his sides which glowed red, a slight hint of metallic scent, of blood. Then down, lower, over his round ass while he leaned over him to sniff on his neck, taking in the smell. Aster growled deep in his throat, feeling the pulsing hunger well up again, stronger, affected by the appealing scent on the boy. His cock slid out, already hard and wet with cum glistening on it's tip, and he rubbed himself against the unconscious male's ass cleft, not caring if he was awake or not.

Starting to thrust against him he growled at the position- he couldn't reach like that, the boy was laying too twisted up. So he impatiently grabbed him, turning his body around until he was laying on his back before he spread his legs wide, pulling him close. With a growl he pressed his hard length against the brown haired's reddish opening. For a moment the teenager's body refused to open up, then it gave in and he sunk into him, burying himself inside the hot, still tight heat. He only stayed like that for a second, in the next he started to thrust, slamming into the still unconscious boy underneath him who moaned out loud, gasping.

Brown eyes ripped open, blinking before they stared at him wide eyed before he gave another thrust, making him gasp out again. It just felt too good. He didn't give the boy any time to adjust, continuing to pound into him, body tensed up while he relished the feeling of the tight heat around his cock, even tighter now that the teenager had awakened. Aster grunted, pounding harder, hips pumping, listening to the panting breath of his tribute underneath him, the sound of his own fast heart beat. It took him a while to notice that something was missing, then he realized that the brown haired hadn't screamed anymore after the first cry. Grunting he stared at the younger male who had his hands clawed into the grass, body tensed up and shaking, eyes meeting his.

To his surprise and irritation he didn't look away immediately, cowering like all the others had done- he stared back, brown eyes filled with a whirl of emotions. Fear, pain and...anger. Scorn. Making those brown orbs seethe vividly. The rabbit couldn't believe it. That boy...Growling quietly he thrust harder, making him hiss out quietly but he didn't scream, stubbornly keeping his mouth shut while he continued to stare at him. Although he wasn't speaking his eyes said everything. The silent anger and scorn underneath his pain and fear were like spears directed at him, piercing into him and making him feel, for the first time ever, stunned and annoyed. No one had ever looked at him that way, had even dared to look into his eyes.

No one. Especially the tributes. Aster didn't understand why it riled him up even more, making him feel angry- and yet even more aroused, a sharp prickling underneath his skin. With an annoyed growl he sunk deeper, wrenching another gasp out of the boy, but not more, no matter how hard he thrust he endured it bravely, the only signs of his pain was his trembling, tensed up body and the gasps. But why did he even care? As long as he felt good he didn't care. A few minutes later he came, shooting his load inside the brown eyed teenager who arched up, gasping a bit louder- but that wasn't enough to satisfy him. The rabbit, still panting a bit, let his eyes close slowly before opening them again, his eyes falling onto the soft, pale pink colored lips which were slightly open now, shining slightly wet.

With a grunt he pulled out, ignoring the other one's pained gasp before he grabbed him by his hair, pulling him up on his knees and close to him. The gray furred rabbit stared into those brown, adamant eyes, piercing him hotly, once again feeling the irritation well up, but he shoved it aside. Instead he dragged the boy closer who stiffened slightly, twitching away slightly and getting jabbed with his hard cock against his cheek. With a deep growl he pulled him closer, staring into those rebellious eyes while he pressed his hard cock against the younger male's lips, demanding entrance.

"Suck", he ordered sharply.

Aster could see how the boy's eyes flickered over his length, back to his eyes, the urge to back away. He had expected him to try to break free, to resist- but he didn't. Instead he slowly opened his mouth, gagging when the rabbit shoved his hard cock inside, starting to thrust hard. His wet, warm mouth didn't feel as good as being inside him, but it was close to- which he fully relished by thrusting into his mouth without any mercy. It didn't take him long to finish- he could feel his body tightening up, his cock short from shooting- which the boy obviously could feel as well. His eyes widened slightly, already trying to move back a bit but he forced him still, growling:

"_Swallow. All of it_".

In the next moment he came, his come flooding the teenager's mouth. He could feel, hear, see him gag violently but he kept his grip on his hair- and although he was sure he wanted nothing more then to pull away- he didn't. The brown haired, though with effort, swallowed everything, some seed running down his chin, making his skin prickle once again pleasantly. When he was sure he had really swallowed everything he pulled out, watching how the younger male gasped for air, his eyes still fixed on the rabbit. That look...With a growl he turned around, leaving the tribute behind once more, his head filled with both the heat and the strange boy.

The next day was the same. He went to the boy and fucked him long and hard- but no matter how violently he pounded into him he refused to scream, holding it in with effort. He didn't act the least like any other tribute he had yet so far. That boy was...different. He didn't scream- although the pain was visible in his face, twisting it slightly, accompanied by his gasps and the sweat on his skin. He didn't sob or try to resist, no matter how often Aster would come over him, using him to pleasure himself- he simply took it, panting underneath him while his brown eyes stared the rabbit, a silent thorn in his side.

He also never tried to run away, like some tributes had tried to after the first time, crying and pleading him to let them return to their village. He could feel that the young teenager feared him- but he never tried to flee his touch. But he also never said a word- not once at all. Aster didn't understand him in the least, feeling annoyed- and yet, strangely fascinated. And he wanted to know why, why this boy made him feel like that, both attracted and repelled him with his behavior. So he started to watch him, when the raging fertility magic was at least momentarily not as high as it was during his heat, looking what he was doing when the rabbit wasn't around.

A big time of that the brown haired male spent sleeping, worn out by the constant use of his body- right under that tree close to the little water fall, covered with his now dirty coat. The boy had never even once tried to run away. Instead he stayed close to the water fall, drinking from it and washing himself everyday- though he also wandered around. Or at least he tried. It more resembled watching a leg wounded trying to walk- the brown eyed male could only limp, face twisted in pain, supporting himself on a staff he had found. Every step was a visible painful strain, torturing him- but he walked, slowly but surely.

The dirty white coat tightly wrapped around his body he wandered around, taking in the surrounding, looking at the trees, the bushes, the mass of flowers blooming. Making the green eyed god realize, with a strange pang in his chest, irritation mixed in, that he wasn't just walking around- no, he was looking, really looking, seeing the quiet, silent beauty of his warren. Sometimes he simply just stayed under the tree, leaning against it's trunk with closed eyes, hugging his trembling body, lips open, humming a quiet song, a soft lullaby which was probably older then he knew. He never wandered far, physically not able to- but he always returned back to the tree where he slept.

Watching him sleeping for a few hours under that big tree hadn't been very interesting at first until he went closer the third day, drawn by his strangely appealing scent. He had seen that he was asleep, eyes moving ever so slightly under his lids, body twitching occasionally- then he had heard him murmur something. He hadn't understand it at first, and not always did when he would sneak up on the sleeping boy, listening what he was murmuring in his sleep. Sometimes it were fragmented words, sometimes names, whispered during his never calm sleeping times. He never was able to listen long, until the heat and magic kicked up again and he, spurred on by his scent, took him and slid into him, starting to fuck him again and waking him up with it.

He couldn't grasp the boy- and that made him even more angry, making him fuck the boy even harder who just gasped and writhed in pain, his brown eyes, wet with unshed tears, staring at him. At the sixth day he realized that just taking him wasn't enough anymore to satisfy him- he wanted to know what was going through his mind. He wanted to have him completely, know him from head to toe, his outside and inside. He wanted to possess him- he didn't want him to leave. Why was it so...different with him? It hadn't been like that with the other tributes. He had enjoyed the warmth of their skin, being pressed against another living being and be joined in the most invading way, heat and desire pulsing through him while he pounded into them.

But it just had been to fix his need. Nothing more. Nothing like he now felt. And it was driving him mad with seething anger and irritation- and, to his nameless shock, bitter desperation. It was the last day, the seventh day. Tonight, in a few hours he would have to bring the boy back. The thought made him hiss, and he thrust deeper into the warm, pliant body underneath him, back arching up at the pain while the brown eyed gasped suppressed, but remained stubbornly quiet. It was already the third round, and although the boy had endured them he probably wouldn't last much longer, his trembling legs and long gasps giving hint.

It amazed him that he had managed to stay up on his knees through three rounds at all. But- it still wasn't enough. Not enough. He needed more then being buried to the hilt into him, feeling his hot, wet tightness around him. He wanted more. He wanted to _hear _him. And if he couldn't make him talk...The brown haired male shivered, body trembling, but he still didn't make any other sound. Panting slightly Aster maneuvered his hips, trying to find the right angle. Thrusting with his hips. Once. Twice. Trice. He pushed harder, changing the angle once more, pushing against- and hit something. The reaction was immediately.

The moment he hit that small spot deep inside the boy reared up violently, his body clamping down tight on the rabbit who grunted in surprise, eyes widening. In the next second the rabbit could feel him moving, trying to scramble away immediately, panting hard, trying to flee the sensation. He hadn't expected him to react like that- which meant he had to be quite sensitive... But Aster didn't give him any chance to escape- he wanted to hear him scream in pleasure. No matter how. He slammed right back, hard into him, furred fingers burying themselves into his bruised sides. The brown haired gasped, struggling, fingers scratching over the grass feebly before he stopped, panting with every new thrust, small whimpers coming from his mouth. But it wasn't enough for Aster. Not enough.

Without pausing he immediately thrust into him again, aiming for that small spot he knew would make him feel the pleasure. Another hard thrust against it, and the brown haired arched up again, his breath hitching audible while a loud gasp escaped his lips- but he still hadn't screamed like the rabbit wanted him to. The boy's body was tensed up visibly but he didn't make a sound- but Aster could feel it- how _hard _he was struggling not to. His body was taut like a bow string, quivering with effort to keep still, muscles tensed up so hard it almost hurt. His breath practically burst out of him every time, like he was holding it in until he couldn't suppress it any longer and had to let it out. He just needed a little, a little more to push him over the edge. He had to make him loosen up, and for that...

Pressing his hips harder into the boy Aster reached down, one furred hand trailing over his bare, naked back before going lower. His fingers found what he was looking for- the boy's cock, hanging down soft and flaccid. His hand grabbed his soft cock, stroking over it hard and fast, his furred fingertips roughly stimulating the sensitive skin while he thrust into him at the same time. And he screamed. The brown haired male cried out loud, eyes almost rolling back into his head when Aster pounded into him, matching his hand strokes with his thrusting. The moment he heard his voice, screaming in pained pleasure, broken and yet so alluring Aster felt himself shiver, desperate heat rolling through his veins. More. He wanted to hear more. He _needed_ more.

Desperate he sped up, panting when the boy tightened up around him involuntarily, crying out again shock, his scream practically ripping it's way through his throat. His hands scratched over the grass wildly, trying to get away from the rabbit, but he didn't let go, holding him brutally tight, forcing him to cry out again while his hand pumped him hard and squeezed his balls, feeling him growing hard in his grip. His hips slammed into him, in and out, a fast, hard rhythm, every thrust made the boy scream louder, higher while he whimpered, tears running down his cheeks. He could feel how close he was, just a little more to bring him over the edge-

One more, hard thrust right against his prostate. The teenager went completely stiff, arching up uncontrollable while he screamed, head thrown back, his body clamping down so hard that Aster wasn't able to hold it any longer. With a loud moan he came deep inside him, shooting his load into him, feeling how the orgasm ripped through the boy underneath him. The brown haired who half sobbed, half screamed, body shaking with the force of his first orgasm before he came hard, his hard cock twitching in the rabbit's hand before shooting it's load. His seed spilled over Aster's hand, white and thick, filling his nose with his strange scent before he went lax, collapsing onto the ground and breathing uneven.

For a moment Aster just stayed like that, half laying on the boy, feeling his erratic heart beat fluttering in his chest, his long pants, the smell of sweat on his naked skin. The teenager's body was trembling uncontrollable, rearing up one last time when the magic reacted, making the boy cry out once more ,shooting through him violently. The sizzling charge was too much for his worn out and exhausted body. In the next moment the brown eyed teenager went unconscious, body going limp for good. The rabbit pulled out, feeling a faint twitch going through the boy's body but he didn't wake up anymore, just laying there, his sides scratched and red, neck marked with numerous bite marks, semen and blood running down his thighs.

Panting slightly he sat down onto the ground, staring at the boy, the mess he had made out of him. The heat, now sated and tamed, pulsed softly in the corners of his body, alongside the magic inside him. It was the first time he actually felt drained- quite drained- after giving, conveying his power onto one of the tributes during sex. He felt slightly dazed, to his utter surprise, his body both heavy yet light with release. His green eyes wandered over the pale, dirty body laying in front of him, feeling the strange urge to carry him off into his nest and keep him there- no matter if he screamed or not. The faint, yet demanding feelings swirled through his slightly numbed mind and he hissed, pushing them aside roughly. He couldn't do that. He had to bring him back.

The rabbit stood up, leaning down to pick up the boy before he hesitated, hands already on his sides. His eyes flickered over the pale, dirty skin, then back to the dirty white coat laying not far away. He took it and crouched, carefully wrapping the boy in the coat to cover him. Only then he hoisted him up, carefully cradling him against his chest. With one, last breath he summoned a tunnel, jumping into it to run back to the village's forest, where he slowly put the boy onto the ground, under a big tree. With one, last look he turned around, disappearing into the forest.

When Jack woke up again it took him a while to recognize his surrounding He recognized that big tree he way laying underneath. With a groan he sat up slowly, eyes blinking before taking in everything. His head hurt, throbbing slightly with the pain he was feeling, his skin felt hot, almost too hot, making it difficult to concentrate. Everything just _hurt_. His arms and legs ached, like he had tried to do countless push ups and his sides burned like mad. But the worst pain was the deep, splitting pain he felt in his lower body, in his ass, without him even trying to move. It burnt, horrible and torturous, making him gasp lightly.

His body also felt strangely boneless, almost like he was made of rubber, lax and soft- if not for the pain, accompanied by a strange, throbbing feeling. It took him a while to realize he was back in the forest- and not that far from his village. He felt sick- so sick that he almost wanted to just stay here, under that tree, laying there and let the exhaustion and pain take over him. But no- he couldn't. He had to go back. He had to go back. Home. To his mother. To Pippa. He didn't remember how he had managed to get back, limping that badly in addition to swaying like he was either drunk or really sick, his vision blurred.

But when the heat had lessened a bit he found himself in the back front of his house. Home. He was finally home. With the last strength he had in him he staggered over to the back door, sinking down with a gasp onto the stairs, head leaning against the cool wall, eyes fluttering closed before opening up against, fighting against the sweet promise of sleep. With his body still trembling he pulled himself up, leaning against the wall for support before he weakly knocked against the wooden door. Once. Twice. Then trice. He waited for several minutes, already believing nobody was awake at all. After all it was still night, what had been one week for him had been one night for the others- for them, it still was the night of Easter.

He let his hand sink down, feeling so incredible weak and exhausted, already wanting to turn away- he could just curl up next to the stairs, or sleep in the chicken house- when the door was ripped open. Warm, golden light hit his eyes, forcing him to shut them while he blinked into it's source before he recognized the figures standing in front of him. North, standing next to Tooth. His mother. And Pippa, peeking around North and her mother. Her brown eyes, looking tired, widened at his sight, getting huge before she whispered: "_Jack_".

For a moment they all were silent, just staring at him with wide eyes. In the next moment Pippa ran forward, throwing her arms around him, embracing him tightly while she pressed her face against his chest. He twitched back, the pain on his sides flaring up while inner panic at the feeling of being touched flared up. _/ Someone was touching him, invading his personal space, would he hurt him he would hurt him-_ / His body tensed up immediately, wanting to break free before his mind kicked back in and reminded him where he was. He was at home, there was no threat, it was just his sister. Only then he relaxed, carefully prying her off him after one second of hugging- he wasn't able to stand it any longer. "Hey", he weakly smiled. "Careful there, I'm a little roughened up". He was finally home. His mother followed only one second later, pulling Jack into her embrace with a soft sob, tightly holding him for a moment before she felt his twitch of pain and let go.

"You're finally back", she said, her brown eyes shining wet before she took a closer look at him, gasping a bit. Seeing his dirty feet, the lightly scratched legs.

Her hands moved towards his coat, wanting to take it off.

Jack immediately twitched back with wide eyes, scared, protectively clutching the coat shut.

"Don't! Mom, I- it's okay, it's not that bad- just- just-let me take a bath, okay?"

They all stared at him, his mother frantic, Pippa sad while North and Toothiana exchanged looks. Jack couldn't stand that look in their eyes. "I just...just want a bath..." , he said quietly. His grandparents walked over to him, North wanting to embrace him as well with Toothiana but noticed how Jack stiffened at their closeness and stopped. No. he didn't want them to touch him, he didn't want them to see how he looked like. What his body looked like. His mother only nodded, walking towards the fire place. Luckily it didn't take that long for the water to warm up, since the fire had already been burning, so all she had to do was to put the water into a pot and wait for it to heat up.

The brown haired male had already gone upstairs and sat down in a corner of Pippa's and his sleeping room- they didn't really have a room to wash themselves in there. His coat tightly pulled around himself he waited until he could hear his mother coming up, carrying the big pot with hot water. With a slight groan she tilted it, hot water sloshing into the trough where it steamed in the air. She stayed there for a moment, slightly leaned over the wooden trough before turning around. Her brown eyes, so similar to Pippa, looked at him, pained and sad- and he looked away. He couldn't stand that look.

Although he knew this was his mother who loved him – it felt like it was piercing through him, trying to crawl under his skin, invade him, go _into _him. Nausea surged up, mixed with faint fear- and for one, long second he wanted nothing more then to crawl further into the corner and hide, disappear completely to escape that prodding, deep stare. The fever was still there, too, pulsing under his skin, making it feel even more sensitive.

"Jack?"

Her voice, much closer now, ripped him out of his thoughts and he looked up, seeing her stand in front of him.

"You can bath now...".

Quickly he nodded and stood up, hoping she hadn't noticed his reflexive twitch back.

"Thanks...", he replied with a smile which felt terribly false and stiff on his lips, but he forced it on nevertheless, waiting for her to leave.

But she didn't.

Instead she came closer. Unpleasantly closer. His skin started to prickle and he inched away as quietly as he could without making it too obvious.

"Jack, let me help you", she slowly said, coming even closer, her brown eyes motherly warm and pleadingly.

No. Anything but _that_. He didn't want her to see him, his body, what it looked like...the bites, the mark, ugly and bruised, red sides, raw from claws, his abused behind... Her hands reached out, trying to open his coat, making him twitch back once again, slapping them away. She twitched back, looking both scared and worried:

"Jack, please. I just want to take a look and sooth it-"

"No".

"Please, I know you are injured, right? Just let me-"

"No".

"Jack, you are hurt, come on"- she came closer, trying to grab his coat once more.

Reflexively he tried to dodge her grip, instead her hand missed and hit his side, making him gasp out involuntarily. The fever, even if just shortly, flared up, making his head spin,panting quietly he staggered back, almost falling over one of the wooden chests on the side while he held his side.His mother looked afraid, eyes big with worry, trying to hurry over to him and help him- but Jack didn't let her.

"No! Mom, please, just-"

"Jack-"

"NO! Go away!", he snapped, pressing away from her, protecting his body.

"Go away", he pressed out between gritted teeth, tightly holding his coat.

"Please", he added a bit softer, suppressing the note of desperation trying to surge up.

His mother hesitated, still, thinking, fighting with herself before she sighed, turning around, her eyes shining with both hurt and pained understanding.

"Just call me if you need help. Okay?"

With that she went away, going downstairs. The brown haired listened to her footsteps, until he was sure she was completely away and wouldn't come back now. Only then he relaxed a bit, slowly he sunk down until he was sitting on the floor, trying to breath in and out slowly. Everything was spinning slightly, his vision blurred occasionally while he gasped lightly, closing his eyes and trying to catch his breath. Where did that feverish feeling even come from? The brown haired hid his face in his hands, shivering slightly at the sensation- his skin felt overly sensitive now, reacting to even the smallest touch and making his nerves go off the rails.

But not in the pleasant way- it hurt, like they were sizzling with too much heat, spitting sparks. Jack breathed in, his fingers burying themselves into his arms while he sat on the wooden floor. He forced his fingers to grip harder, nails burying themselves deeper into the skin until the dull pain grew stronger, synching in with the feverish feeling rolling through his veins and the nausea. With a muffled groan he dug deeper, until he couldn't hold it anymore and let go, leaving behind scratches of bright red on his skin. He stared at it, softly tracing them with his fingertips before he looked down his body, covered in his coat.

Jack let his fingers go lower, until they hit the knot he had made to keep the folds of the coat together and cover his body. The former white cloth parted, slipping off his left shoulder, exposing his dirty skin. Angry red bite marks, created by large animal, covered his neck till down to his shoulder. The teenager slowly stood up, wincing in pain while at the same time he swayed slightly, the feverish heat rolling through his body and making him feel weak in his legs. His hands slowly wandered towards the coat's slit, grabbing it before pulling it off with one swift movement and exposing his naked body to the air.

The brown haired male breathed in hard, eyes shut while his fists were clenched on his sights. Then he slowly opened his eyes- and looked down on his body. The sight made him almost, almost gag. Both in disgust and shame. He was a mess. His shoulders and neck- covered with bite marks. His sides, adorned with scratching marks from claws, red and aching. His legs- scratched from twigs and with small blue spots. His feet, dirty on the sole with earth, almost blackish brown. But, the worst was the throbbing on his ass- and inside. He could still _feel_ _it_ inside his body, the seed which had been pumped into him.

Suddenly, in addition to the already feverish feeling and sensibility, came another feeling. It rushed over him like ice cold water. He was dirty. Dirty. Filthy. Tainted. He needed to get clean. He staggered over to the water filled through, unsteadily climbing into it. The moment the water hit his skin he gasped. It was _hot_. Normally it wouldn't have bothered him- he loved taking hot baths since there wasn't always a chance for that and relished it. But now, with his skin already almost too sensitive and feverish he almost couldn't bear it.

It felt like he was just one step away from burning up, both inside and outside and he could feel his mind getting even dizzier. But he refused to get out without doing the task he had set himself. He needed to clean himself. He was dirty. Grabbing the sponge laying next to the trough he started to scrub his skin hard, first slow then harder, faster. The sensitive skin reacted with stinging pain, but he didn't stop, scrubbing until his skin started to look more reddish and burnt. Up and down, up and down. With gritted teeth he scrubbed until it hurt too much- only then he dropped the sponge and soaked his hair, washing it roughly with his face.

Gasping lightly because of the heat he leaned forward, kneeling while leaning onto the edge of the trough for support. The brown haired male closed his eyes, shutting them tight before he let his fingers wander down until they reached the cleft of his ass, hovering over the hidden opening for a few seconds. Slowly he pushed them between the cheeks, parting them a bit to gain more access before he hesitantly put them closer. With his body stiff he breathed into his arm, putting his fingertips closer to it. And closer. And closer. One tip was just one inch away, he just had to push it into himself and...the tip brushed over his opening, brushed very delicate.

Barely noticeable, very, very soft, just the ghost of a touch. And yet, that touch was more than enough to bring back the memories of the night. Jack gasped, fingers pulling back while his body immediately tensed up, clenching up so hard it almost hurt. He sunk down back into the hot water with his body trembling like mad, gripping his arms so hard the nails were digging into his sensitive skin. He couldn't do it, couldn't clean himself there like he wanted to, to wash away all memories of that night. He couldn't.

The skin on his arms started to hurt even more with his nails scratching it, throbbing in pace with his dizzy head. But he didn't care, still shaking with the fear and panic awakened by that ghostlike touch. It made him angry- and yet he couldn't help but feel it, the fear and panic he had felt at that time and still felt.

"Calm down Jack", he told himself harshly, burying his fingers deeper into his aching skin, hissing at the pain- but the feelings were still there, pressing down onto him.

"Calm down calm down calm down-" he chanted desperately.

He repeated it over and over again- but no matter how often he said it his body didn't stop shaking like a leaf. Why couldn't he calm down? He wasn't there anymore, wasn't there on his knees and hands with his body getting abused. He was home. It was over, he wouldn't get abused again. He was safe. But it didn't stop his body from trembling in the still hot water, didn't stop his eyes from stinging. In the next moment he started to cry silently, body shaking while he sobbed almost inaudible. Trembling. Caught in his feelings. Head dizzy.

Body throbbing with fever and pain. Nausea in his stomach. Pressure on his head. Pain wasn't bad. He had gotten hurt several times already. When he had gone hunting, stumbling and having a blue spot later. Having eaten bad food and then laying in bed with terrible stomach aches. Breaking his little finger once while carrying heavy wood. Bumping his head really hard once when he had fallen down from a tree and laying there unconscious for two hours. Ordinary pain. Everyday pain. He could deal with it. Normally. But not at that night, not at the first time. When he had been robbed off his clothes, kneeling there on all fours. Scared. Naked.

Without any protection. When Aster had hold him down and simply mounted him with no warning, no holding back. And it had hurt so much. He had never experienced pain like _that. T_he moment when the god's hard, dripping length had pushed against his opening, hard and strong. Trying to force him open although his body was clenched shut tightly, rebelling, refusing to let it in. but it hadn't helped. The thick head had simply shoved into him. Breaking him open. Breaching him. Ripping him open with brutal force.

It had felt like someone had shoved up a red hot iron pole up his ass, too big to really fit. Like he would rip into two. He hadn't been able to suppress his screaming or his crying. Every thrust into him had just hurt a bit more. And if he would have been able to he probably would have done anything to make the pain stop. The first time had been so terrible. So painful. After it was over, when he had been laying on the ground, abused, filled with seed and bleeding, after he had been fucked a second time he had been, somewhat, relieved. Because he now knew what was awaiting him, what it would be like. And he had thought that the worst was over. Past. Behind him. He had been so wrong. It had been terrible, to get fucked, taken everyday, without ever screaming to release at least a bit of the pain he was feeling.

But that hadn't been the worst. The worst had been when the god had done the one thing he had never wanted to experience like that. Pleasure. It had hit him with no warning, when the big rabbit had thrust into him, hitting a spot he hadn't known even existed. The sensation, so familiar and yet so alien had completely overwhelmed him. And made him do the thing he hadn't wanted to- he had screamed. In pleasure. He hadn't been able to fight against the feeling rolling through his veins, setting him on fire against his will. Hadn't been able to stop his body from reacting- to his touch on his cock, the constant pounding against that spot hidden deep inside him. Hadn't been able to stop his body from arching up, his toes curling, his fingers burying themselves into the earth. Hadn't been able to suppress the scream bursting free, ripped from his throat.

Against his will. And it had hurt- more then the first time. So much more. He hadn't wanted this. Hadn't wanted to feel this thing, pleasure, burning through him, caused by _him. _No matter how much he had struggled to get away, to escape this cruel pleasure he hadn't been able to, pinned down, being held by Aster. Forcing him to feel the pleasure. Over and over again. Until he had no other choice but to come, right into his hand while his first orgasm ripped through him violently, shaking him to his core while he cried out, face wet with tears. Pleasuring him. Hurting him. Then, mere seconds later, _that _had hit him as well, an overwhelming gush, mercilessly, chasing another sizzling charge through him.

And at that he had lost his consciousness, unable to take any more, slipping into the comforting black darkness. Jack sobbed, hiding his face, trembling even despite the hot water sloshing around him- it had hurt so much. The god had forced him to feel it, the pleasure, he had taken something from him. The only pleasure he had ever experienced was through his own hands while, one day he had thought he might be able to share it with someone else. Some day. But now...He would never be able to ever accept, to feel pleasure again, without being reminded of _him_, how he had forced it out of him.

Never.

He was broken.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting inside the trough when he had calmed down a bit, still trembling a bit. Jack stood up, swaying dangerously while he gasped in surprise, trying to stay on his feet. His vision was dangerously blurry and he felt even weaker than before, the feverish heat still pulsing through him, maybe even a bit stronger now. The brown haired climbed out of the now cooler water, drying his body as good as he was able to in his state before he staggered over to his bed. He fell onto the hard mattress with a dull sound, laying there for a second before he pulled himself higher, still trembling. The teenager actually felt worse now after the bath, for it had only cleaned his skin but did nothing against the increased temperature inside him. Hot water simply didn't do good with heated bodies.

His head was spinning, the fever pulsing through his body and he felt so sick that he wasn't able to suppress it very long. The young male, clawing the edge of his bed, leaned over it, body heaving while he gagged, trying to vomit. But nothing came out, no matter how much he tried to relieve himself of the nausea inside his body- it was like the nausea wasn't in his stomach but _under_ his skin, writhing, digging deeper into him. Gasping he fell back onto the bed, finally giving up after a few minutes of weak struggling. He had enough. All he wanted right now was to sleep, to forget everything and fall into the comforting darkness- even if just for a few hours.

Jack fell asleep at last, into a light, agitated sleep, moving around restless in his sleep. He was asleep but still could hear his surrounding, the sound of voices quietly talking downstairs, chairs being shifted occasionally. He vaguely felt, heard the presence of someone coming into his room, carrying away the through. The soft touch of fingers placing a cold, wet cloth onto his forehead, someone sitting next to him before leaving again after a short time. But he never fully woke up from his restless, dark slumber, never really getting much relaxation. Haunted by flashbacks of his days down there- the pain, the smell, the sensations-

_- grass under his fingers, earth under his nails, a burning, terrible pain, hot and searing, splitting him into half, sharp, merciless thrusting into him which was tearing him apart. A furred, heavy body holding him down roughly, forcing himself onto him, and he wanted to escape, to flee this pain, it hurt so much, he didn't want this-_

With a gasp Jack woke up, looking around wildly with his eyes wide open, his heart thumping hard and painful against his chest. It took him a while to realize where exactly he was, but even then he couldn't calm down. The silver light shining through the small window was that of the moon, showing it was still night. The brown haired teenager breathed out slowly and rolled onto his side, groaning slightly at the heat raging through his body, not to mention the nausea stuck inside him. He felt disoriented and light, like he was about to fly, float through the air like a feather carried by the wind, eventually gliding into another half awake state. But as soon as he was, the memories came back, continuing to haunt him, chase him, cage in him in his own mind and he groaned quietly, a soft whimper escaping his lips. But there was no escape- he was caught in a loop of those memories. Something soft brushed his sweaty, hot forehead, then he faintly felt a weight pressing down the mattress right next to him.

"Jack?"

Blinking he tried to fully open his heavy eyelids, fighting against the exhaustion and fever in his body, numbing his mind. Two brown eyes were staring at him worriedly, the person's face slightly blurred before his sight cleared and he saw his little sister sitting on the mattress next to him.

"Hey Pippa",

he murmured and smiled faintly, reaching out to softly touch her face, caressing her cheek.

"Did you...did you have a nightmare?", she quietly asked, face shadowed in the dark room,

"Because I...heard you make...sounds...".

The older boy was quiet, trying to come up with an answer.

"Nah, it's okay. No nightmare, just a little...wild, that's all. Don't worry your pretty lil' head over this, okay?"

She nodded, though not looking very convinced before she looked down, her eyes wandering over his trembling hands and bit her lower lip. Then, without a word, she moved next to him, crawling underneath his blanket where she curled next to him, not touching him, but her hand reached out, taking his own into hers. Dark brown eyes stared into each other before Jack let out a shivering breath and closed his eyes, trying to calm down his thundering heartbeat. Pippa's hand was smaller, but warm, yet pleasantly cool compared to his own body heat, her smell familiar and soft. Before he knew it he fell asleep, lulled into sleep by her presence next to him.

He spent the next three days in bed, unable to leave it due the pain in his lower body, fever making him feel exhausted and tired. The fever made his head spin sometimes, and he believed himself to be back in the forest, wandering through it while he heard the sound of soft footsteps behind him. But whenever he would turn around no one was there. Pippa spent a lot of her time next to him, cooling his head with cold cloths drenched in water, sneaking him his beloved blueberries although their mother hadn't allowed it. She told him stories, his fairy tales he had always told her when they had to go to bed, adding her own crazy ideas which made him laugh.

North and Toothiana, who were still there- they had decided to stay longer for now- also came up with Sandy. His mother always brought him nice, fresh soup, trying to feed it to him which he refused to, but he still ate it but on his own. But they never came all at once- he couldn't tolerate more then two persons in the room. He listened to North's stories of his traveling, let Tooth show him some more exotic things they traded or had gotten, watched how Sandy drew magnificent small sketches of the things he had seen - as much as he was able to see and hear in his feverish state. But he never let them touch his body.

He didn't want them to.

Couldn't.

He was able to handle light touches- a pat on his shoulder, North's hair messing, Pippa's light punches against his chest- but never more. Whenever someone's hands would come, accidentally or not, too close to certain spots on his body he would recoil automatically, the fear and pain flaring up again, together with the memories of what had happened. And shove them away immediately. He didn't want them to touch him where it still hurt. The brown haired teenager always waited until he was alone before he stood up, dizzy and still aching with stings of pains, taking care of his wounds and cleaning himself. He always avoided touching the place on his left butt cheek- the one time he hadn't a wave of pain had rolled over him. He hadn't tried a second time.

When the morning of the fourth day arrived the fever had disappeared, leaving him a bit weak yet more awake and clear in his mind than before. He was sitting straight in bed, eating for the first time something different than soup- fresh bread and sweet mash with blueberries. Jack was joking around with Pippa, throwing blueberries at her and enjoying her laughs which made him at least temporarily forget that night, when they heard knocking from downstairs. Then, someone came in.

"I wonder who it is", Jack said, looking at Pippa who had gone quiet, biting her lips before she looked back at him.

"I'll go and see who has come this time",

she murmured, jumping off the bed and running downstairs before Jack could ask her why she had looked so worried.

Thinking he slowly stood up, slowly walking over to the stairs where he stopped, listening. A male voice, strangely familiar- in the next moment Pippa came up again, staring at him before she hurriedly whispered:

"Jack! You have to go back into bed!"

Jack froze, realizing that this meant someone else was coming up- not North, not his mother, Toothiana or Pippa or Sandy- someone from the village. Suddenly he became very aware of his own body- all wounds seemed to flare up in dull, throbbing pain. He quickly pulled up the blanket, trying to cover himself as much as possible without looking strange, then another realization hit him. Why would someone come to see _him_? Everyone in the village thought Pippa had been the tribute- his mind stumbled over the word which suddenly felt like it was spiked, it's tips slicing through his skin. Why would someone care about him at the moment?

"What did Mom say that...happened to me?", he whispered to Pippa who replied:

"She said you went hunting and then got attacked by a bear".

He didn't have the time to think about that strange explanation, or ask who exactly even had come- in the next moment someone appeared in the room. The young man hadn't expected to see him.

"Hello Jack",

he slowly said, almost shyly while coming closer. It was Ethan. Son of the doctor in the village, but more interested in crafting. He had light brown hair with equally colored eyes, tall with some muscles on him, yet not overly packed- at least not like Brady, the son of the blacksmith. They were old childhood friends. They used to play together, chase each other through the village and sneak out into the forest. Ethan had always been a lot shyer then Jack, always rather quiet, even amongst the friends he had, but he was always nice and caring. He had accompanied Jack along his trips- or rather break outs, watching him with awe in his eyes when he had climbed up trees. Following him almost everywhere when Jack had asked him- almost like a puppy, their mothers had once joked.

But when they had gotten older they had seen each other less and less- with Jack having to help his mother after his father had died. Ethan had stayed behind, getting the support from his father to become a craftsman like he wanted to, though he still helped out with his patients. And now he was here, smiling awkwardly at Jack who smiled back, surprised but not unpleasantly- yet he still kept the blanket pulled high.

"Hey",

he greeted back, watching how the other male came a bit closer before he stopped, awkwardly shuffling with his feet before he looked at Jack again. Something was wrong, and it took him a while to notice what was kind of strange. Ethan had, after a short glance at Pippa and a friendly, shy smile, not looked at her anymore, his eyes fixed on Jack, and with a sting of panic he noticed that the other one was looking at his neck. And his nightshirt didn't have a very high collar- thus not covering all of the bite marks.

"Well...I, uh, bring some medicine from my father",

Ethan said hesitantly, light brown eyes flickering over Jack's face, back and forth.

"He heard from your mother that you got...injured and told me to go and bring these medicine for help."

"I see...Well, thank you Ethan",

Jack replied, smiling again despite his inner panic when he saw that the other male was still looking at his neck, a strange look in his eyes.

"How...how did that happen?",

he hesitantly asked, scratching his neck awkwardly while he looked at his feet.

"My dad just said it was something which happened during hunting, but I didn't hear everything. So I...kind of wanted to see if you really were alright. That's why I came upstairs, wanted to see if you were alright, Jack...".

Jack laughed a bit, slightly embarrassed, scratching his neck as well- though his cramped grip on the blanket didn't loosen once.

"You know it was kind of, really silly, I went hunting and then...kind of had the luck to stumble into a bear. Of course the bear was not pleased and attacked me, so...yeah...That's what happened. Got myself injured, not that bad, but still pretty painful, so I had to stay in bed. Also had some fever, because the...bear's claws were dirty and I got a slight infection because of that."

"A...bear?", Ethan echoed, looking both surprised and frightened, coming closer.

"Are you.. are you really alright? I could...take a look at your wounds. You know, me being the assistant of my father-"

He came closer, reaching out to pull the blanket off, and the other male immediately, knee-jerk twitched away, crying out:

"No! No, you don't have to- I mean, it's okay now. Sandy...Sandy took a look already."

"Sandy?"

"He is a doctor, he travels with North, my grandfather you know, he's here too..."

"Oh"

Ethan said, lowering his head a little, for a short moment they overshadowed his eyes before he looked up again and smiled awkwardly.

"I see. Well, it was just an offer, that's all."

He came a bit closer, crouching down before he took a closer look at Jack's neck.

"Did...did the bear this to you? Did he...bit you there?"

Jack froze inwardly, immediately cracking a false smile, laughing awkwardly.

"Yeah, the bear bit me there- though he wasn't able to grab me hard enough, otherwise I probably wouldn't have gotten away...".

Ethan nodded, his hazel eyes still flickering over his neck, uncomfortably intense. He was close enough- though, thankfully, not uncomfortably close enough- that Jack could see their color clearly, knowing there were little flecks of darker brown. They had gotten darker, somehow, and for a brief moment Jack thought he saw something inside them, something dark, almost like a shadow crawling over the hazel. In the next second it was gone and Ethan leaned back again, standing up before he, once more smiled at his old childhood friend.

"Well, I have to go now. Mr. Bramith wants me early for his teaching. I left the medicine upstairs, your mother probably already took it."

He turned and walked back to the stairs, stopping there before he looked back with a reluctant smile:

"I'm...I'm glad you are better now Jack."

Then he was gone. And the brown haired sighed out, letting out the fear and panic he had suppressed inside, his hands letting go off the blanket. He hadn't been found out. Thank god. The next day he left his bed, fully, fed up with staying in bed, although his mother had pleaded him to stay a bit longer. He felt more than good enough to walk around. It still hurt when he walked, but not enough to make him visibly limp anymore, something he was thankful for. Jack didn't know if he had been able to stay inside much longer, he hated being kept inside, being 'caged', which normally only happened when he was sick.

Although he hated being kept inside longer than necessary, at the same time- he was kind of afraid. Of going outside. So he only went out into the garden at first, only to be totally flabbergasted at the sight of it. The grass was practically the embodiment of grass, green and long. The vegetables in their vegetable patch had practically exploded- he could swear they now were trice the size than before, the fruits on their trees had already grown, despite it not even being the _time_ for apples. When he took a look at the chickens he only discovered that they now seemed to lay double, if not also trice the amount of eggs, the horses had incredible shiny manes and fur, looking stronger then ever. When he asked his mother she told him that it- of course- had started as soon as he was back and that she had sold the excess vegetables and fruits at the market with North's and Toothiana's help.

He still couldn't really believe it, that it was possible for plants to grow that much, even when Sandy showed him 'proof' sketches of their growth. Was that normal? He knew he had received some fertility magic, but...to create such effects? He hadn't expected it. North and Toothiana had also told him that the village people were equally flabbergasted at the sight of their big vegetables and apples- "Apples in spring, ever seen that Bill?! ". They all were of course very pleased, since everyone's plants, fields and whatever had also shown good signs of a promising big crop- thought nothing was able to stand equal compared to their garden's growth.

"They all want to thank Pippa for her...well, her 'work'",

North said during their dinner, at the evening of the day when Jack had first gone outside again. At those words everyone involuntarily looked at Jack, even when they tried to hide it- he could still feel their eyes on him. But he said nothing at that, just spooning his soup while his sister stared into her bowl, eyes downcast.

"Not to mention the many...presents they have left at the door",

Toothiana said.

"All these men, just having come to see her in hope of speaking to her",

she lightly wrinkled her nose at that, showing exactly what she thought about that. Jack had seen them at well, the pile of presents the many male visitors had left, in hope of getting his sister's attention. Different things like baskets with fruits or vegetables, special made bread, fine woven cloth and beautiful clothes, jewelry, even a young, cute dog had been offered. Their mother had sent the dog back immediately. And Pippa hadn't even faced one of the courting men, not wanting to at all. Later, when they already were laying in their beds and Jack was just about to fall asleep, weakly hoping he would get a night without nightmares this time Pippa suddenly spoke.

"Jack?",

she asked quietly.

"Are you still awake?"

"Yes",

he mumbled back, rolling onto his side to look at her, tiredly wondering what she wanted.

"I...I wanted to know if you.."

She hesitated.

"If you would come with me tomorrow. To go into the village. Maybe to buy a book, I don't know. I just...want to go outside again. But I don't want to go alone. Mom and North already went to exclaim that I...wouldn't marry anyone this year, nor the following. But I'm still a bit...nervous, and I don't want to go with Mom, North, Sandy or Toothiana. So...will you go with me?"

Jack stilled, more awake then before, his thoughts racing. He hadn't gone before, too afraid of the looks of the village's people, afraid that they saw it, found out it had been him- not Pippa. Him who had been the tribute. Him, who's skin had been touched, who's body had been used. Him who had been...tainted. But, still...he couldn't let her go alone. Burying his fingers hard into his palm he breathed out before looking at her, seeing her eyes shine lightly in the dark.

"Of course you dummy".

So they went together, walking out of the house with their mother staring after them slightly worried before she was pulled inside again by Toothiana who calmed her down. It felt weird, to be outside again for Jack, and suddenly see so many people again. He couldn't help but scoot closer to Pippa who took his hand to squeeze it shortly, her eyes shining uncertain- yet she kept walking beside him. He could see how the men looked at her, at Pippa. Curious. Hopeful. Calculating. Appreciating. But the worst was the greed he saw in their eyes. Both sexual and material. He hated it, that look, being directed at his sister, and although his skin prickled uncomfortably at the presence of so many people around he still kept close to her. Making visibly with his protective position and his slightly threatening look in his eyes that he wouldn't tolerate any men coming at her. He was glad that, later, when they had gone back home, that no one had noticed how tense he had been.

Not because he had been afraid of anyone trying to come closer and strike up a conversation which might end up in a verbal fight. Because he had been afraid of being touched. He didn't know if he had been able to handle it, even once. Even his sister's touch, her hand brushing his or gripping it sometimes had made him shy away from her occasionally and involuntarily. Three weeks passed by, filled with calming activities like story telling, playing games with North, Sandy and Toothiana, helping his mother out in the garden and getting things from the village. Jack mostly felt a bit tired because he didn't sleep very well- memories of that week kept haunting him in his dreams, making him wake up with a gasp. Sometimes he bit into his pillow to not make any sound and wake Pippa up. He didn't want her to know he didn't sleep very well. So he busied himself, trying to forget, accompanying his sister to the village if she wanted.

He sometimes, though just rarely, saw Ethan who always smiled awkwardly at him and then asked if he was alright now before he went to his teaching, as quiet and gentle as always. But he never once went to the forest. Normally, nothing held him back from going out and into the forest, no rain, no strong wind, no snow, no heat. But now there was something. As fragile as paper, like a colorful yet dark wall of glass, invisible, separating him from the forest. Keeping him away. Memories. Of that night. That week. But then the day came when his mother noticed that they didn't have any meat left. While she was lightly scolding North- together with Toothiana who seemed to enjoy this a bit more then she probably should- Jack stared into the larder, not noticing how Pippa stepped next to him, looking at well. His mind was racing, thoughts tumbling, tangling, slamming into each other.

Because they had no meat. Sure, they didn't always had meat at hand or kept it as a reserve for bad times, like if the crop didn't seem to become very well. But after three weeks of mostly vegetables, to stretch out the remaining meat, and with three more eaters at home they would need more. No meat meant hunting. And hunting meant going into the forest. The brown haired teenager stared at the shelf where normally the meat was, or hung up from the ceiling, then he turned around, looking at his mother and grandparents.

"I'll go hunting".

At that his mother and Toothiana turned around with North, Sandy straightening up from his almost sleep position, everyone looking at Jack. It was silent for a while, then his mother managed to get her voice back and spoke slowly:

"Jack, you...you don't have to go hunting, don't force yourself-"

"Sarah is right. I can go hunting for all of us!",

North immediately added, looking at Jack who shook his head. "No. I'll go", he replied, standing up.

"But-"

"No. I will do it. You don't even know where to look for the places where the animals usually go. I do. I've been in this forest so often. "

"But, Jack, you don't have to go. Aren't you still...do you not...",

his mother didn't finish the sentence, letting it hang in the air. But yet, everyone knew what she was talking about. Of course everyone knew- and exactly acted like that. And Jack had enough.

"No. And don't try to convince me into not going. I've had enough of being at home or just going to the village for a while. I- I_ have_ to go".

His mother looked at him dismayed, stepping forward.

"Jack, you really don't have to go-"

"I have to",

he cut her, smiling a little.

"And- it's alright, don't worry. I'm not afraid."

With that he turned around, going upstairs where he took his bow and arrows which had been standing in a corner of their room before he walked past them, waving one last good bye before marching to the forest. He had lied. He still was afraid. But he had also said the truth at the same time. He had to go, he couldn't stay forever at home or just sometimes go to the village or he would go insane. Brown eyes intently stared at the big trees in front of him, hovering over him while their leaves rustled in the wind, making him swallow. Green. The green of the forest. The green of plants. Healthy. Normal. Full of life. But also as green as the eyes of...he didn't finish that particular thought, swallowing before he slowly stepped forward.

One step. Then another. Closer, further. Over the line where the forest actually started to grow stronger, thicker, closely.

"Jack!"

Surprised he quickly turned around, seeing a figure running towards him. A familiar figure. Pippa.

"What- what are you doing here?",

he asked, irritated, staring at her. His sister took a deep breath, calming down and collecting a bit strength before she answered.

"I...I wanted to accompany you. I didn't want you to go alone, so I sneaked out when no one was looking and followed you here. Though I did take the berry basket with me, so they'll know where I am".

"Pippa, just go back, I don't need you to-"

"Please!",

she pleaded, looking at him with big brown eyes.

"Please Jack. I won't bother you. I'll just go collecting berries like always, and you'll go hunting",

she repeated, her hands gripping the handle of the basket tightly. The older male stared at her, hesitating, his mind swaying between yes or no before it decided.

"Fine. You can come with me. Just...be quiet, but you already know that...".

Sighing softly he turned around once more, staring at the forest before he gave himself a push and walked forward, into the forest, followed by a quiet Pippa. They walked for a good while until he spotted a few berry bushes and pointed at it, his sister nodded and walked towards them.

"I'll stay here",

she said and smiled a small smile at him, softly. He could only nod then turn around continue.

Going deeper, further into the forest.

Soon he had left her behind, keeping her residence tucked away in the back of his mind. It felt strange, even stranger then going to the village for the first time again after that- and yet so terribly familiar. The whispering, rustling of the trees, the bushes around him. The occasional breeze of the wind. The distant songs of birds, above his head or further away. The quiet, almost not noticeable sounds of the animals living here, wandering, chasing, sounds he had spent years on learning to hear. Or to see their traces, the almost invisible prints of paws, hooves, claws on the ground, traces on trees, bushes, the wet ground next to a stream or lake. All of it was the ever constant song of the forest, myriads of tiny sounds, thousands of smells, millions of sensations, all building one, big unit, in perfect harmony.

If one of those sounds disappeared, one of those smells, sensations there was another, a new one to fill the gap, continuing the circle. Jack sneaked through, carefully, slowly weaving his way through, making a short stop to gulp down water from a small source before continuing. It felt good. To be back in the forest. He knew what he had missed the most, this feeling, of being here, deep inside, being free, roaming around and learning it's secrets- and yet never knowing them all. But, although this was familiar surrounding...It was calming - and yet he was tense, almost as strained as his bow's string. His skin prickled uncomfortably while he sneaked around, sometimes freezing because it had just sound like _someone_ was following him.

But every time he had whirled around no one had been there. It was just the forest. But he couldn't help but see, hear, sense him here, anywhere, maybe behind that tree, under those bushes. Watching him. And it was driving him mad with both fear and panic. He had to sit down after a while, crouched under a tree with his head between his legs, breathing in hard to calm down.

_/ Stop freaking out you idiot /_ he thought, _/ He isn't here. He isn't watching you. You are alone in the forest. Just the trees and the animals, so finally get a grip! / _

After that he stood up and continued his sneaking. Forcing himself to have an open ear for the sounds. His eyes open for everything. Feeling the wind on his neck, ruffling through his hair. The rustling of the trees. The cracking of twigs and leaves, mixed with patches of soft grass and raw earth under his bare feet. And slowly, he calmed down, relaxing a bit. But never really losing his tenseness fully, keeping his body strained. Ready to bolt. After a few minutes later he found the traces of a deer, female and probably around 50 pounds, on the ground, weak yet visible for him. Jack followed it, weaving through the bushes and trees in silent concentration, making up possible trails the deer could have gone until one path cleared more and more. It had drank something, then walked further, towards that certain place where many herbs grew with good grass and a good protection from most predatory animals. Most. But not safe from him.

He dove past a few bushes, spotting a patch of brown not far away and- there it was. The deer was there, slowly walking around, it's ears turning, checking it's surrounding before it sniffed, but when nothing pointing to a possible threat close by it started to browse. The brown haired male had made sure to not be in the wrong wind direction. He sneaked closer, very careful to not make any sounds, breathing quietly, lowly before he knelt, body low to not appear in it's sight. Carefully he took his bow, drawing it slowly, the arrow pointing just right at the deer's chest, where the heart was beating. Yet. He breathed in, eyes locked onto the brown animal.

His fingers were just about to let go when, suddenly, he heard something. Right behind him. Loud enough- close enough to startle him. But that wasn't what made him turn around. It was the presence. It washed over him with no warning, powerful, strong, overwhelming, so very intense- and so very familiar. Jack froze, his breath stuttering while his body and mind were assaulted by that presence before he gasped, the mark on his ass suddenly, painfully flaming up with no warning. In the next second he whirled around with a cry, bow drawn tight, faintly hearing how the deer, having seen and heard him now, fled quickly. Only to find himself facing familiar green eyes, staring back into his so intense it almost hurt to not look away- but he was caught anyway, couldn't look away. His suddenly dry mouth opened, lips moving without his mind having giving the order, involuntarily forming a name:

"_Aster_...".

**Okay. That was it.**

**One of the most difficult- to – write- chapters- ever for me.**

**I've NEVER written non-con before, that really was difficult...**

**Damn. I really hope you enjoyed it at least a bit, **

**because I feel like I failed terribly at writing this!**

**Just tell me your opinions as usual:**

**Was it good? Was it bad? Too OOC?**

**Too rushed? **

**( I think I rushed the last part a bit...)**

**your author,**

**going to sleep now**

**Kamo-chan**

**REVIEWS PLEASE! **

**(please be nice, first time non-con written...) **


	3. NO UPDATE- HIATUS

**Hi my dear readers!**

**I'm sorry to say that this is no new update, sadly...**

**I decided to put this story on hiatus for a while – together with „Infected", **

**cause at the moment I just can't properly concentrate on continuing this.**

**My mind is too occupied with some personal things and a new fandom,**

**I first need to get that out of my system, will probably put it up on fanfiction,too.**

**You probably all know how it is to get caught in a new fandom- no escape (sigh).**

**I'm really sorry for that, but I thought it was better to tell you to put up with a bigger break instead of letting you wait without telling you, making you maybe believe I dropped those two stories.**

**Don't worry, I'm still on it. It'd be unsatisfying and mean to not complete both.**

**Just stay patient, okay?**

**Your author,**

**Kamo-chan**


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